i,S  or  V:iNa 


^i-m'6,M^'':^ 


OUTLINE  STUDIES 


IN   THE 


New  Testament 


CATHOLIC  EPISTLES— JAMES,   I  AND    II 
PETER,  I,  II,  III  JOHN,  AND  JUDE 


BY 

WILLIAM    G.   MOOREHEAD 

Professor  in  the  Xenia  Theological  Seminary 


"Other  men  laboured,  and  ye  are  entered  into  their  labours.' 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.   Revell    Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


J 


Copyrighted,  1908,  1910 

BY 

THE  UNITED    PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD  OF 
PUBLICATION 

Pittsburgh,    Pa. 


CONTENTS 


PACB 


Epistle  of  James 6 

^'Lord's   Brother" 9 

Address  and  Date 12 

Analysis    16 

Temptations    18 

Prayer  and  Healing 21 

The  Tongue 24 

Barren  Orthodoxy 2.^ 

First  Peter 30 

Peter's  Primacy 32 

Place  of  Composition — Babylon 36 

Notable  Features 38 

Analysis    43 

Prominent  Topics 44 

Prophets  and  their  Study 48 

Preaching  to  the  Spirits  in  Prison 51 

Second   Peter 68 

JuDE  Quotes  from  2  Peter "^2 

Peter's  Three  Worlds 79 

First  Epistle  of  John 87 

God  is  Light 94 

God  is  Love 104 

Design  of  i  John 115 

Second  John 121 

V 


vi  CONTENTS 


rxGK 


Third  John 123 

JuDE   127 

Description  of  Apostates 131 

Seven  Marks  of  Apostacy 134 

Sons  of  God  and  Daughters  of  j\Ien 136 

Enoch's  Prediction 142 


EPISTLE  OF  JAMES 


The  seven  epistles,  commonly  called  Catholic  or 
General,  are  the  subjects  of  the  present  study.  With 
the  epistle  of  James  we  are  first  to  deal. 

Can  the  James  whose  name  is  attached  to  this 
epistle  be  identified?  Several  persons  bearing  the 
name  are  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  e.  g., 
James  the  son  of  Zebedee  John's  brother,  James  the 
son  of  Alphaeus,  James  the  Less,  and  James  the 
Lord's  brother.  There  is  good  reason  to  regard  James 
the  son  of  Alphaeus  and  James  the  Less  as  one  and 
the  same  person  (cf.  Mark  xv:  40;  xvi:  i ;  John 
xix:  25).  Three  of  the  name  appear  to  be  distin- 
guished from  each  other,  viz. :  James  the  son  of 
Zebedee,  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  and  James  the 
Lord's  brother. 

Which  of  these  three  was  the  writer  of  the  epistle? 
James  the  son  of  Zebedee  is  excluded  by  the  fact  that 
it  was  written  probably  after  his  martyrdom  by  Herod, 
A.  D.  44.  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus  seems  also  to  be 
excluded  because  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was 
specially  prominent  as  a  teacher  in  Jerusalem,  whereas 
the  contents  of  the  epistle  and  the  Acts  attest  the  pres- 

7 


8  EPISTLE   OF   JAMES. 

ence  of  a  James  in  the  holy  city  who  held  a  conspicu- 
ous and  influential  place.  Besides,  the  writer  of  the 
epistle  does  not  call  himself  an  apostle;  he  speaks  of 
himself  simply  as  "a  servant  of  God  and  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (i:  i).  Ordinarily,  when  a  writer 
of  an  epistle  gives  his  name  he  affixes  also  his  title. 
Now  James  son  of  Alphaeus  was  an  apostle,  but  James 
the  Lord's  brother  was  not.  In  Gal.  i :  19  he  seems  to 
be  included  in  the  number,  but  the  construction  of  the 
sentence  in  that  place  does  not  warrant  such  a  con- 
clusion :  "But  other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none,  save 
James  the  Lord's  brother."  The  margin  of  the  Re- 
vised Version  reads,  "but  only  James  the  Lord's 
brother,"  which  sets  him  apart  from  the  apostle  Peter 
whom  Paul  visited  on  this  occasion.  (Cf.  Rom.  xiv: 
14;  Luke  iv:  26,  2y,  for  a  like  construction.)  In 
I  Cor.  XV :  7 — "then  he  appeared  to  James" — the  order 
of  the  words  seems  to  imply  that  James  is  rather  to 
be  distinguished  from  than  included  among  the 
apostles.  Had  James  son  of  Alphaeus  written  this 
letter  he  would  in  all  probability  have  inserted  his 
title  of  apostle.  Since  this  is  absent,  the  inference 
seems  legitimate  that  the  writer  was  not  an  apostle. 
Besides,  Jude  describes  himself  as  "a  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  brother  of  James"  (ver.  i) — language 
which  denotes  that  Jude  anticipates  a  respectful  hear- 
ing of  his  message  because  of  his  relationship  to  the 
influential  James.  In  the  family  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
there  were  both  a  James  and  a  Jude  (Mark  vi:  3), 
and  it  is  altogether  likely  that  the  two  named  in 
Jude's   epistle   were    precisely    these   two   sons,    and 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  9 

hence  the  "Lord's  brothers."  But  neither  of  them 
was  an  apostle,  though  bound  to  the  Lord  Jesus  by 
the  closest  ties,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

On  the  whole,  the  evidence  points  unmistakably  to 
James  "the  Lord's  brother"  (Gal.  i:  19)  as  the  author 
of  our  epistle.  He  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
members  of  the  apostolic  church.  He  was  the  chief 
pastor  and  principal  teacher  of  the  church  of  Jeru- 
salem. It  was  he  who  with  Peter  and  John  gave  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  to  Paul  and  Barnabas 
(Gal.  ii:  9),  to  whom  Peter  sent  the  tidings  of  his  de- 
liverance from  prison  (Acts  xii:  17),  and  who,  to- 
gether with  the  elders,  received  Paul  and  his  com- 
panions on  their  arrival  in  Jerusalem  with  the  gifts 
of  Gentile  churches  for  the  needy  saints  (Acts  xxi: 
18).  It  was  this  James  who  took  so  prominent  a  part 
in  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv),  and  who 
offered  the  resolution^  as  we  moderns  would  say,  which 
was  unanimously  adopted  by  that  .assembly.  Peter  at 
Antioch  for  a  time  held  fellowship  with  Gentile  Chris- 
tians, but  when  certain  came  from  James  he  drew  back 
and  refused  longer  to  eat  with  them,  so  great  was 
James'  influence  (Gal.  ii :  11,  12). 

But  now  what  relationship  is  meant  by  the  ex- 
pression, "the  Lord's  brother?"  Frequent  mention  is 
made  of  the  Lord's  brethren  (Matt,  xii:  46;  Mark  vi: 
3;  John  vii:  3,  5;  I  Cor.  ix:  5;  Gal.  i:  19).  In  Mark 
vi :  3  we  read,  "Is  not  this  the  carpenter,  the  son  of 
Mary,  and  brother  of  James,  and  Judas,  and  Simon? 
And  are  not  his  sisters  here  with  us?"  This  was  said 
by  the  people  of  Nazareth  who  were  well  acquainted 


lO  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

with  the  family  and  with  Jesus'  relation  to  it.  They 
speak  of  His  brothers,  naming  them,  and  of  His  sisters, 
and  of  His  mother.  In  Acts  i :  14  "his  brethren"  are 
distinguished  from  the  apostles,  from  the  disciples, 
and  from  the  mother  Mary.  What  kinship  did  He 
sustain  to  these  ^'brothers"  and  "sisters  ?"  Cousins  of 
Jesus  they  could  hardly  be,  for  the  term  "brother"  is 
never  used  in  this  sense  in  the  New  Testament.  If 
they  were  the  children  of  Cleopas  (Alphaeus),  whose 
wife  was  Mary  (John  xix:  25),  who  was  sister  to 
Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  as  Jerome  and  many  after 
him  believe,  then  we  have  two  sisters  of  the  same 
name,  a  most  unlikely  thing.  But  the  text  in  John 
xix:  25  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  mother's 
sister  was  the  wife  of  Cleopas ;  rather,  we  understand 
John  to  say  this — "His  mother  and  His  mother's  sister, 
Mary  of  Cleopas  and  Mary  Magdalene."  Four 
women  are  here  mentioned,  not  three.  Mark  xv:  40 
informs  us  that  one  of  the  women  who  beheld  the 
crucifixion  was  Salome,  and  John  does  not  name  her 
because  she  was  his  own  mother,  and  she  was  sister 
to  Jesus'  mother. 

The  natural  inference  from  the  biblical  statements 
as  to  our  Lord's  brethren  is  this :  His  brothers  and 
sisters  were  the  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary  born  to 
them  after  the  birth  of  Jesus.  The  intelligent  reader 
of  the  Bible,  uninfluenced  by  preconceptions,  would 
certainly  infer  so  much.  It  was  superstitious  rever- 
ence for  the  mother  of  Jesus  and  for  the  dogma  of  her 
perpetual  virginity  that  led  men  to  affix  other  meanings 
to  the  terms  "brother,"  "brethren"  and  "sisters"  than 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  H 

the  natural  one.  Accordingly,  the  conjecture  is  that 
Joseph  was  a  widower  when  he  and  Mary  were  mar- 
ried, and  that  he  had  sons  and  daughters  by  a  former 
wife,  and  these  were  His  "brethren."  There  is  no 
hint  in  Scripture  of  this:  it  is  pure  conjecture.  He 
who  holds  that  Psalm  Ixix  is  Messianic,  and  that  it  in 
point  of  fact  expresses  the  feelings  and  experiences 
of  the  Messiah,  that  in  it  Messiah  does  actually  speak, 
as  the  writer  unhesitatingly  does,  has  a  scriptural 
definition  of  the  Lord's  "brethren :"  "I  am  become  a 
stranger  unto  my  brethren,  and  an  alien  to  my 
mother's  children,"  Psalms  Ixix :  8 ;  cf .  Luke  ii :  7 — 
"her  firstborn  son." 

The  Lord's  brethren  did  not  receive  Him  as  Mes- 
siah. John  says,  "Even  his  brethren  did  not  believe  on 
him"  (John  vii:  3-5).  Mark  informs  us  that  at  one 
time  they  entertained  serious  doubts  as  to  His  sanity; 
they  thought  He  was  "beside  himself,"  and  with  the 
mother  Mary  they  sought  to  arrest  Him  and  to  take 
Him  home  with  them  (Mark  iii:  21,  31).  It  is  note- 
worthy that  it  was  but  a  few  months  before  His  cruci- 
fixion when  John  affirms  the  disbelief  of  Jesus' 
brethren.  Indeed,  it  seems  that  it  was  not  until  He 
was  risen  from  the  dead  these  "brethren"  cordially  re- 
ceived Him  as  Messiah  and  were  identified  with  the 
apostles  and  disciples  (Acts  i:  13-15).  It  is  thought 
by  some,  Lightfoot  among  the  number,  that  James,  the 
Lord's  brother,  was  converted  when  the  risen  Saviour 
appeared  to  him  (i  Cor.  xv:  7).  If,  therefore,  James 
the  son  of  Alphaeus  and  James  the  Lord's  brother  are 
identical  and  that  it  was  he  who  wrote  our  epistle,  it 


12  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

follows  that  he  was  both  a  disciple  and  apostle  before 
he  was  a  believer  in  Christ  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  public  ministry,  and  even  up  to  and  beyond  the 
crucifixion — which  appears  to  us  quite  an  untenable 
position. 

Legends  and  traditions  have  gathered  about  the 
name  of  James,  most  of  which  are  fanciful  and  un- 
historical.  Some  things  have  been  preserved  of  him 
that  may  have  some  foundation  of  truth.  It  is  re- 
lated that  he  was  called  by  the  people  The  Just,  a 
tribute  to  his  uprightness  and  integrity.  He  was  a 
thorough  Israelite,  a  strict  observer  of  the  Law,  but 
not  a  mere  formalist.  His  course  in  the  Jerusalem 
Council  proves  he  was  tolerant  and  had  a  large  and 
wise  view  of  Christian  liberty.  In  all  essentials  he  was 
in  complete  accord  with  Paul  (Acts  xxi :  18-26). 

There  is  a  story  connected  with  the  Lord's  appearing 
to  James  after  the  resurrection  which,  however  doubt- 
ful, is  worth  relating:  At  Jesus^  death  James  vowed 
he  would  eat  no  bread  until  he  saw  Him  risen  from  the 
dead.  When  the  Saviour  appeared  to  him  He  said, 
"My  brother,  eat  thy  bread,  for  the  Son  of  Man  is 
risen  from  among  them  that  sleep."  He  died  as  a 
martyr. 

James  addresses  the  Twelve  Tribes  of  the  Disper- 
sion (i:  i).  The  term  Dispersion  is  very  comprehen- 
sive. Jews  were  found  everywhere  throughout  the 
vast  Roman  Empire,  and  even  beyond  its  limits.  We 
know  from  Acts  ii:  9-1 1  that  devout  Hebrews  came 
from  Elam  in  the  far  east  and  from  Rome  in  the  west 
to  be  present  at  the  annual  feast  of  the  Passover  held 


EPISTLE   OF   JAMES.  13 

in  Jerusalem.  Christians  were  found  among  these 
dispersed  tribes,  and  these  James  addresses  in  much 
of  the  spirit  and  temper  of  an  Old  Testament 
prophet. 

At  first  sight  the  epistle  appears  to  be  entirely  legal. 
It  reminds  us  of  portions  of  Deuteronomy  and  of 
Proverbs.  As  is  well  known,  Luther  objected  to  it 
mainly  on  this  score,  calling  it  "a  right  strawy 
epistle."  So  did  Erasmus,  Cardinal  Cajetan  and 
others.  It  must  be  remembered  that  James  wrote  to 
believing  Jews  who  still  held  fast  to  Moses  and  the 
Law.  They  needed  just  such  exhortations  and  warn- 
ings as  he  so  frequently  and  powerfully  employs. 
Faith,  obedience,  humility,  patience  and  love  were 
graces  they  lacked  and  needed,  and  these  he  urges  on 
them  with  the  authority  and  force  of  a  teacher  in 
Israel. 

Furthermore,  the  epistle  is  an  echo  of  the  Saviour's 
teaching.  It  is  closely  connected  with  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount.  "There  is  scarcely  a  thought  in  it  which 
cannot  be  traced  to  Christ's  personal  teaching.  If 
John  has  lain  on  the  Saviour's  bosom,  James  has  sat 
at  His  feet"  (Scott).  There  are  more  than  fifteen 
unmistakable  references  in  it  to  the  truths  taught  in 
the  Sermon,  and  in  some  instances  the  correspondence 
is  almost  verbally  exact. 

It  was  written  at  Jerusalem.  The  date  is  not  so 
easily  fixed.  Some  things,  however,  may  help  to 
locate  the  time  with  proximate  certainty.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  James  the  Lord's  brother  was  martyred 
about  A.  D.  62.    The  apostle  Peter,  in  his  first  epistle, 


14  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

quotes  largely  from  James  (cf.  I  Peter  i:  6,  7;  James 
i:  2;  I  Peter  i:  24;  James  i:  10,  11;  i  Peter  iv:  8; 
James  v:  20;  i  Peter  v:  5,  6,  8;  James  iv:  6,  7).  At 
the  time  Peter  wrote  James'  letter  must  have  been 
well  known,  and  accredited  as  both  genuine  and  au- 
thoritative. Accordingly,  it  must  have  been  written 
some  years  before  First  Peter. 

The  epistle  moves  within  the  circle  of  Judaic  Chris- 
tianity, and  it  belongs  to  its  first  stage.  Certain  ex- 
pressions in  it  could  be  used  with  great  effect  by  the 
Judaizers  to  impose  their  legalistic  dogmas  on  Gen- 
tile believers,  e.  g.  (ii:  10),  "For  whosoever  shall  keep 
the  whole  law,  and  yet  oifend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty 
of  all."  This  statement  could  be  easily  perverted  into 
the  support  of  a  rigorous  observance  of  the  Mosaic 
rites.  That  the  Judaizers  did  thus  employ  such  pas- 
sages appears  evident  from  Acts  xv:  24.  It  is  there 
asserted  that  some  had  gone  from  Jerusalem  to  Anti- 
och  and  other  places  whose  chief  aim  it  was  to  im- 
pose Judaism  on  Gentile  Christians,  and  they  claimed 
that  James  and  other  influential  disciples  sanctioned 
their  teaching.  But  the  claim  is  denied — "To  whom 
we  gave  no  commandment."  The  inference  seems 
legitimate  that  the  epistle  was  written  before  the 
meeting  of  the  Council  held  in  Jerusalem,  i.  e.,  before 
A.  D.  51.  This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  James  never  once  alludes  to  the  controversy  at 
Antioch ;  never  once  does  he  mention  circumcision,  the 
heart  of  that  bitter  contention.  What  he  vigorously 
insists  on  are  moral  precepts  and  Christian  duties  com- 
mon to  all  believers,  Jew  and  Gentile  alike,  and  not 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  15 

at  all  on  ceremonial  ordinances  or  Hebrew  rites. 
Hence  the  date  probably  precedes  A.  D.  51.  Some- 
where between  A.  D.  45-51  it  probably  lies: — (Mayor, 
Huther,  Neander,  Plumtre,  Purves). 

The  epistle  of  James  is  very  likely  the  oldest  docu- 
ment in  the  New  Testament  canon.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  within  sixteen  years  of  our  Lord's  resurrection 
the  Gospel  had  penetrated  the  widely  scattered  people 
of  Israel.  James  himself  told  Paul  that  there  were 
"many  thousands"  who  believed,  and  he  spoke  only 
of  Jerusalem.  How  many  more  there  must  have  been 
within  the  Roman  Empire  we  may  readily  infer.  The 
Lord's  brother  had  good  reason  to  address  his  letter 
to  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  Dispersion. 

Another  thing  worthy  of  note  is,  that  James  does 
not  controvert  Paul's  doctrine  as  to  justification  by 
faith  apart  from  works.  The  controversy  between 
Paul  and  the  Judaizers  is  of  later  date  than  this 
epistle.  Both  Romans  and  Galatians  were  written 
some  years  after  James.  Hence  the  one  did  not  write 
against  the  other,  nor  is  there  antagonism  in  their 
views  of  truth,  as  later  on  in  this  study  we  shall  see. 

The  language  of  the  epistle  is  strong  and  beautiful. 
It  abounds  in  vivid  imagery,  in  short,  sententious  ut- 
terances. With  a  single  stroke  of  his  pen  James  com- 
mends a  duty,  scourges  a  fault,  denounces  wrong,  ex- 
alts virtue,  and  crowns  patience  and  faith  with  tran- 
scendant  glory.  James  differs  widely  from  Paul  both 
in  style  and  thought.  The  imagery  of  Paul  is  drawn 
almost  exclusively  from  the  employments  of  men,  as, 
e.  g.,  military  life,  agriculture,  architecture,  and  the 


16  EPISTLE   OF   JAMES. 

contests  of  the  stadium  and  of  the  gymnasium,  while 
the  metaphors  of  James  are  taken  almost  entirely  from 
the  phenomena  of  nature.  There  are  more  images  of 
this  sort  in  this  short  epistle  than  in  all  the  writings 
of  Paul  put  together.  Note  how  graphic  these  are: 
the  waves  of  the  sea  driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed; 
the  stately  ship  and  the  fierce  winds ;  the  flower  of  the 
grass ;  the  sun  risen  with  a  burning  heat ;  the  bit  and 
bridle  of  the  horse ;  the  small  fire  and  the  raging  con- 
flagration; beasts,  birds,  serpents;  the  fig,  olive,  vine; 
the  salt  and  fresh  water;  the  early  and  latter  rain,  the 
vanishing  vapor,  rust,  and  moth-eaten  garments.  Paul 
was  a  keen  observer  of  the  habits  and  ways  of  men: 
James  was  an  eager  student  of  nature,  and  saw  in  its 
varied  phenomena  a  picture  of  humanity.  Both  spoke 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  their  inspiration  did  not 
annul  the  characteristic  features  of  their  minds. 

Analysis. 

I.  Contentment  with  our  lot,  chap.  i. 

1.  Greeting,  i:  i, 

2.  Victory  over  temptation,  i:  2-8. 

3.  The  lowly  and  the  lofty,  i:  9-1 1. 

4.  Sin's  genesis  and  issue — God's  gift,  i:  12-18. 

5.  Receiving  the  word,  i:  19-21. 

6.  Hearers  and  doers  of  the  word,  i:  22-27. 

II.  Instructions  and  admonitions,  ii-iv:  12. 

1.  As  to  respect  of  persons,  ii:  1-13. 

2.  As  to  a  barren  orthodoxy,  ii:  14-26. 

3.  As  to  the  control  of  the  tongue,  iii:  I-12. 

4.  As  to  jealousy  and  faction,  iii:  13-18. 

5.  As  to  pnh,  greed  and  censoriousness,  iv:  1-12. 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  ly 

III.  Denunciations,  chaps,  iv:  13-v:  6. 

1.  Against  overweaning  confidence,  iv:  13-17. 

2.  Against  rich  and  oppressive  sinners,  v:  1-6. 

IV.  Concluding  exhortations,  chap,  v:  7-20. 

1.  Patience,  v:  7-11. 

2.  Rash  assertions,  v:  12. 

3.  Health  and  sickness,  v:  13-20. 

This  analysis  serves  to  show  how  practical  and  even 
personal  the  epistle  is.  It  is  ethical,  not  doctrinal.  Yet 
doctrine,  even  the  profoundest,  underlies  the  personal 
appeals  and  the  stern  denunciations.  It  deals  with 
actual  conditions.  It  pours  light  into  the  professions 
and  the  practices  of  Christian  Jews,  and  Gentiles  as 
well.  Living  in  the  center  of  Judaism  James  saw  the 
vices  to  which  his  countrymen  were  addicted,  and  he 
saw  likewise  that  his  flock  was  infected  by  the  same 
hurtful  evils,  and  so  he  must  rescue  them.  Accord- 
ingly, he  lifts  up  his  voice,  like  one  of  Israel's 
prophets,  to  exhort,  to  rebuke,  and  to  warn.  He  some- 
times speaks  with  indignation,  sometimes  with  sorrow, 
almost  with  tears,  always  with  the  deepest  earnestness. 
He  pours  out  what  is  uppermost  in  his  thoughts  and 
closest  to  his  heart  without  waiting  to  connect  his  mat- 
ter or  to  throw  bridges  across  from  one  subject  to 
another. 

Beneath  the  abrupt  style  and  sententious  form  of  the 
epistle  there  is  a  paramount  aim,  a  single  purpose. 
James'  design  is  to  vindicate  the  genuineness  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  life.  He  seeks  to  make  Christians 
sincere  and  true.  He  protests  against  the  semblance 
3 


l8  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

of  religion,  against  the  profession  of  godliness  with- 
out its  possession.  What  he  insists  on  is  reality.  He 
has  no  patience  with  a  mere  show  of  piety,  with  a  lorm 
of  godliness.  He  has  a  horror  of  cant.  He  heartily 
repudiates  what  is  not  real  and  vital.  This,  it  is  con- 
ceived, is  the  essence  of  James'  teaching.  He  ex- 
presses it  thus:  "li  any  man  thinketh  himself  to  be 
religious,  while  he  bridleth  not  his  tongue  but  de- 
ceiveth  his  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain"  (i:  26). 
The  key  of  the  epistle  is  found  in  this  sentence :  "But 
be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiv- 
ing your  own  selves"  (i:  22).  "What  doth  it  profit  if 
a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  hath  not  works?  Can 
that  faith  save  him  ?"  All  this  talk  about  faith — what 
is  it  worth?    Words,  words — nay,  let  us  have  realities. 

With  this  clue  in  our  hands  let  us  study  some  of 
the  prominent  features  of  this  Scripture. 

I.  Temptations  and  their  uses,  i :  2-4,  12-16.  "Count 
it  all  joy,  my  brethren,  when  ye  fall  into  manifold 
temptations."  What  singular  advice  this  is!  Most 
people  count  trials  a  calamity;  they  are  commonly 
dreaded,  and  always  to  be  shunned.  James  thought 
otherwise.  He  looked  on  them  as  a  means  of  Chris- 
tian culture,  as  a  positive  blessing;  and  hence  they 
should  be  welcomed  with  joy.  Of  course,  suffering 
in  itself  brings  no  joy,  but  the  reverse.  It  is  of  what 
the  trials  may  through  grace  work  out  for  the  be- 
liever that  they  are  to  be  counted  a  joy  when  they 
come.  "Knowing  this  that  the  trying  of  your  faith 
worketh  patience."  A  metal  is  tested  in  order  to 
know  its  worth.    But  the  trial  of  a  dead  thing  is  only 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  19 

a  test,  whereas  the  trial  of  faith  is  the  test  of  a  living 
principle,  and  it  issues  in  spiritual  strength  and 
energy.  James  calls  it  "patience,"  i.  e.,  endurance  or 
steadfastness,  the  development  of  genuine  character. 
So  Paul  also  conceives  of  it  (Rom.  v:  3-5),  a  passage 
we  may  venture  to  paraphrase  thus:  We  rejoice  in 
our  tribulations,  because  tribulation  works  out  patient 
endurance,  and  patient  endurance  becomes  a  cause  and 
works  out  an  approved  experience,  and  this  next  be- 
comes a  cause  and  works  out  hope,  a  hope  that  cannot 
shame  nor  disappoint  us,  for  it  is  the  fruit  of  grace 
and  of  the  Spirit's  action.  The  aim  of  Christian  dis- 
cipline is  perfection,  "that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  en- 
tire, in  nothing  lacking."  Faith  is  the  supreme  condi- 
tion of  spiritual  life  and  growth,  and  faith  grows  by 
use,  by  exercise,  hence  it  is  tried,  put  often  to  the  test 
that  it  may  become  strong  and  vigorous.  It  is  only 
thus  it  becomes  fruitful.  Because  of  what  tempta- 
tions mean  and  what  they  do  and  why  they  are  sent 
the  intelligent  Christian  ought  to  regard  their  approach 
with  joy  (cf.  I  Peter  iv:  12,  13).  It  is  a  singular 
school  we  are  sent  to,  and  they  are  strange  lessons 
which  we  are  sometimes  made  to  learn.  But  it  is  the 
best  of  all  schools  and  the  most  profitable  of  all  lessons. 
Jacob  in  his  anguish  said,  "All  these  things  are  against 
me"  (Gen.  xlii:  36),  but  he  was  totally  mistaken. 
What  seemed  to  him  to  be  unmixed  evil  turned  out  to 
be  altogether  good  (cf.  Rom.  viii:  28;  Heb.  xii:  5-12). 
But  often  our  distrust  of  God  and  our  unworthy  sus- 
picions of  Him  rob  His  dealings  with  us  of  much  of 
their   value.      Pain,   loss,    suffering,    are   not   joyous 


20  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

things,  but  grievous,  "nevertheless  afterwards  they 
yield  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness  unto  them 
that  are  exercised  thereby."  How  many  men  and 
women  bless  God  for  the  loving  but  firm  discipline  of 
the  old  home !  It  then  seemed  hard  to  them,  almost 
cruel,  but  it  bore  its  precious  fruit  in  the  after-life. 
What  they  now  are  and  all  they  are  they  owe  in  large 
measure  to  the  faithful  home  training.  It  is  not 
otherwise  in  God's  household.  A  psalmist  writes, 
"Before  I  was  afflicted  I  went  astray;  but  now  have 
I  kept  thy  word."  And  he  gladly  adds,  "It  is  good  for 
me  that  I  have  been  afflicted"  (Psalms  cxix:  67,  71). 
Through  eternity  the  saints  will  rejoice  that  God  loved 
them  too  well  to  let  them  have  their  own  way.  He 
does  not  spare  the  rod,  and  His  rod,  like  Aaron's,  buds 
and  blossoms.  So  James  bids  us  count  our  divers 
temptations  as  "all  joy,"  their  multiplicity  may  be 
made  to  yield  "every  joy,"  every  sort  of  glad  ex- 
perience. 

"Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity, 
Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, 
Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head." 

"Temptation"  is  used  in  two  opposite  senses  in 
Scripture.  In  one  it  means  triai,  testing,  as  we  have 
just  seen.  In  the  other  it  denotes  enticement  to  sin, 
sftlicitation  to  evil.  God  never  tempts  in  this  sense. 
The  basest  slander  uttered  against  Him  is,  to  charge 
Him  with  being  the  author  of  the  sin  by  which  one  is 
overcome.    Yet  men  do  this.    They  seek  to  exculpate 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  21 

themselves  for  their  evil  doing  by  laying  the  blame  on 
circumstances,  on  temperament,  on  bad  companions, 
on  the  devil,  or  on  the  Creator  who,  they  allege,  have 
made  them  with  these  fierce  passions  and  desires.  Not 
thus  does  a  true  child  of  God  blaspheme  the  holy 
Lord.  His  language  is  that  of  the  psalmist,  "I  ac- 
knowledge my  transgressions,  and  my  sin  is  ever  be- 
fore me.  Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned,  and 
done  this  evil  in  thy  sight"  (Psalms  li:  2-4).  His 
confession  is,  "my  sin,"  **mine  iniquity,"  "my  trans- 
gressions." The  wrongdoing  is  one's  own,  all  one's 
own.  God  tempts  no  man  to  evil ;  "but  each  man  is 
tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away  by  his  own  lust,  and 
enticed."  It  is  a  sign  of  grace,  a  token  of  reality, 
when  one  honestly  confesses  his  sin,  repents  of  it, 
and  comes  to  God  with  humble,  trustful  confidence. 
It  is  a  mark  of  total  depravity  when  one  blasphemously 
charges  God  with  his  sin. 

II.  Prayer  for  wisdom  and  guidance,  i:  5-7;  v: 
13-18.  "If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God 
that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not; 
and  it  shall  be  given  him."  Wisdom  is  more  than 
knowledge  and  is  better.  A  man  may  have  extensive 
and  accurate  knowledge,  and  at  the  same  time  be  any- 
thing but  wise.  The  wisdom  so  often  and  so  highly 
commended  in  the  Bible  is  a  spiritual  perception,  a 
right  understanding  of  what  is  right  and  best,  and 
the  application  of  it  to  the  life.  Its  beginning  is  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  its  possession  brings  content- 
ment and  happiness.  For  wisdom  discerns  the  will 
of  God  concerning  us,  perceives  His  aim,  acquiesces 


22  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

in  His  dealings,  and  draws  thence  comfort  and 
strength.  Wisdom  is  the  best  knowledge  used  for  the 
highest  ends.  It  comes  from  God,  and  is  to  be  had 
for  the  asking.  When  serious  troubles  arise,  when 
exigencies  and  perplexities  beset  us,  when  we  know 
not  what  to  do  or  how  to  behave,  when  no  way  of 
escape  appears,  God  is  more  than  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency, and  may  have  a  hundred  ways  to  lead  us  out 
into  liberty  and  to  set  our  feet  in  a  large  place.  We 
have  only  to  ask ;  He  gives  "liberally,"  absolutely,  dis- 
interestedly. Selfishness  gives,  but  grudges,  rebukes; 
He  gives  with  perfect  love,  nor  reproaches  our  ignor- 
ance nor  mocks  our  fears. 

Prayer  is  not  real  unless  it 'is  in  faith.  God  honors 
trust  in  Himself,  never  doubt  or  unbelief.  Therefore, 
"let  him  ask  in  faith  nothing  wavering."  "Waver"  is 
fine,  for  while  it  does  not  positively  deny,  it  hesitates 
and  trembles  between  belief  and  unbelief,  as  if  it  met 
the  question.  Will  God  keep  His  promise? — now  with 
yes,  and  now  with  no.  "Let  not  that  man  think  that 
he  shall  receive  anything  from  the  Lord,"  for  he  is  a 
"double-minded  man,  unstable  in  all  his  ways." 
"Double-minded"  is  most  expressive,  as  if  the  man 
had  two  souls,  one  trusting  the  other  doubting,  one  for, 
the  other  against,  hence  inconstant,  unsettled  like  the 
surge  of  the  sea.  Stier  well  says,  "A  doubtful  peti- 
tioner offers  not  to  God  a  steady  hand  or  heart  so  that 
God  cannot  deposit  in  it  His  gift."  Twice  only  do  the 
Gospels  speak  of  Jesus  marvelling;  once  at  the  faith 
of  a  Roman  officer  (Matt,  viii :  lo)  ;  and  once  at  the 
unbelief  of  the  people  of  Nazareth,  "And  he  could  do 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  23 

no  mighty  work"  there,  for  unbelief  ties  up  the  hand 
of  God  while  faith  moves  the  hand  that  moves  the 
worlds  (Mark  vi:  5,  6). 

True  prayer  is  offered  only  by  one  who  is  at  peace 
with  God  and  a  child  in  the  heavenly  household. 
James  writes,  "The  supplication  of  a  righteous  man 
availeth  much  in  its  working."  The  prayer  of  faith 
is  always  heard,  so  is  that  of  the  righteous  man,  for 
only  the  justified  and  saved  man  prays  in  absolute  trust 
and  confidence. 

It  is  the  righteous  man  who  is  the  genuine  interces- 
sor ;  he  can  come  with  holy  boldness  to  the  throne  of 
grace  in  behalf  of  others.  So  James  directs  that  one 
sick  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church  who  are  to  pray 
over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord :  "and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and 
the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up ;  and  if  he  have  committed 
sins  they  shall  be  forgiven  him"  (v:  14,  15).  On  this 
passage  mainly  rests  the  "sacrament  of  extreme  unc- 
tion" held  and  practiced  by  the  Roman  church.  The 
contrast  between  what  Jesus  teaches  and  Rome  prac- 
tices is  as  sharp  as  it  can  well  be.  In  James  it  is  the 
sick  one  who  calls  the  elders ;  in  Rome  it  is  others,  the 
sick  being  supposed  to  be  in  extremis.  Here  it  is  the 
elders  who  are  called,  there  it  is  the  priest ;  here  united 
prayer  is  offered  for  recovery;  there  no  prayer  for 
healing  is  "said;"  here  the  anointing  is  for  healing; 
there  for  absolution ;  here  all  is  done  for  healing ;  there 
for  death.  Extreme  unction  is  only  administered  in 
cases  where  life  is  despaired  of  and  death  is  believed 
to  be  certain.    It  is  mildly  hinted  that  the  sickness  may 


24  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

be  the  product  of  sins  committed ;  and  the  promise  is 
that  if  so  these  shall  be  forgiven,  and  the  prayer  of 
faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
up  to  life  and  health  again.  A  faithless  man,  a  dou- 
ble-minded man,  an  unrighteous  man,  cannot  offer 
true  prayer.  Prayer  without  faith  is  fruitless.  James 
urges  sincerity,  honesty,  genuineness  on  the  part  of 
Christians.    He  is  intolerant  of  mere  profession. 

in.  Control  of  the  Tongue,  i:  26;  iii :  i-io.  James' 
indictment  against  the  censorous,  malignant,  slander- 
ous and  lying  tongue  is  one  of  the  most  severe,  yet  the 
most  just,  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  literature. 
Three  very  pointed  illustrations  are  introduced  to  set 
forth  adequately  the  fact  of  the  smallness  of  the  instru- 
ment and  the  greatness  of  its  work.  The  tongue  is  com- 
pared to  two  familiar  mechanical  appliances,  and  then 
to  one  of  the  forces  of  nature,  in  all  three  very  simple 
and  insignificant  means  produce  mighty  results. 

(i).  The  bit  and  bridle  of  the  horse,  iii:  3.  "Be- 
hold, we  put  bits  in  the  horses'  mouths,  that  they  may 
obey  us."  The  horse  is  a  powerful  animal,  useful 
when  domesticated,  dangerous  and  useless  when  wild, 
but  he  must  be  controlled  in  any  case  if  he  is  to  serve 
man  with  his  strength.  And  he  is  governed  by  the  bit, 
the  part  he  bites,  and  the  thing  which  keeps  him  under 
command.  How  trivial  the  bit  seems,  yet  how  effec- 
ti've !  So  is  the  human  tongue,  small  in  itself,  but  so 
powerful  as  to  arouse  the  wildest  passions,  defile  the 
noblest  mind  and  pollute  the  purest  heart;  or,  it  can 
stimulate  to  high  endeavor,  instil  the  loftiest  aspira- 
tions, and  fill  the  soul  with  the  most  steadfast  courage 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  25 

and  patience.  Curbed,  its  worth  is  beyond  compare; 
unfettered,  it  is  one  of  the  deadHest  enemies  of  God 
and  man. 

(2).  The  ship's  rudder  (iii:  4):  "Behold  also  the 
ships,  which  though  they  are  so  great  and  are  driven 
of  fierce  winds,  yet  are  they  turned  about  with  a  very 
small  helm  whithersoever  the  governor  listeth."  The 
merchantmen  of  Paul's  time  were  large  vessels,  as 
those  described  in  the  Acts  clearly  indicate  (chaps, 
xxvii,  xxviii)  ;  but  in  our  day  naval  architecture  builds 
on  a  colossal  scale.  Yet  both  ancient  and  modern  ships 
are  controlled  by  a  little  tongue,  or  rudder,  at  the 
stern.  The  mammoth  ships  of  the  present  are 
guided  by  a  small  steering  apparatus,  but  it  is  power- 
ful enough  to  counteract  the  "fierce  winds"  and  the 
heaviest  seas.  **So  the  tongue  is  a  little  member,  and 
boasteth  great  things."  "Death  and  life  are  in  its 
power"  (Prov.  xviii :  21).  Speech  is  like  a  rudder; 
it  can  guide  into  right  ways,  escape  dangers,  battle 
successfully  with  storms,  and  conduct  into  restful 
harbors.  But  it  can  also  wreck  and  shatter  lives,  and 
drown  in  bottomless  floods. 

(3).  The  little  fire  (iii:  5)  :  "Behold,  how  great  a 
mat'ter  a  little  fire  kindleth !"  "Behold,  how  much 
wood  is  kindled  by  how  small  a  fire!" — R.  V.).  The 
power  of  fire  is  terrific.  A  single  spark  may  kindle  a 
conflagration  which  will  consume  a  whole  city.  The 
"Great  Fire"  of  London  in  1666  began  in  a  little  shop 
near  London  Bridge,  and  by  it  most  of  the  city  was 
laid  in  ashes.  The  fire  which  in  1871  burned  over 
some  2,100  acres  of  Chicago,  which  in  a  few  hours 


26  EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 

left  100,000  people  homeless,  and  which  destroyed 
some  $200,000,000  of  property,  started  in  a  cowshed 
by  the  overturning  of  a  lamp.  At  first  a  cliild's  foot 
might  have  extinguished  the  tiny  spark,  but  "kindled," 
it  became  a  raging  sea  of  flame  which  no  fire  depart- 
ment could  arrest.  "And  the  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world 
of  iniquity,"  which  "defiles  the  whole  body  and  sets  on 
fire  the  wheel  of  nature,  and  is  set  on  fire  by  hell." 
These  are  fearful  emblems  of  the  tongue's  malignant 
and  deadly  work.  But  the  figure  is  used  sometimes  to 
denote  the  energy  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  when  the 
tongues  of  fire  rested  on  the  heads  of  the  disciples  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost*  Those  tongues  of  flame  signified 
the  power  of  speech,  the  irresistible  words  which  the 
disciples  should  utter.  And,  indeed,  their  words  were 
like  glowing  embers  in  their  intense  energy  and  force, 
as  the  record  in  Acts  shows.  James'  use  of  the  figure 
denotes  the  power  of  the  tongue  in  evil.  Speech  is 
often  diabolical ;  it  scorches  and  consumes.  The  liar 
scatters  firebrands,  the  slanderer  kindles  a  raging  con- 
flagration, the  backbiter  sets  afire  the  "wheel  of 
nature,"  the  whole  circle  of  his  neighborhood. 

Furthermore,  the  unsanctified  tongue  is  untamable 
(iii:  7,  8).  Every  form  of  animal  life  submits  to  hu- 
man authority,  and  every  brute  yields  to  man's  patient 
training.  Even  the  wildest  and  most  ferocious  of 
quadrupeds,  as  the  elephant,  the  lion,  the  tiger;  the 
most  solitary  of  birds,  as  the  eagle,  the  ostrich,  the 
falcon ;  the  most  poisonous  and  implacable  of  reptiles, 
as  the  cobra,  the  viper,  the  crocodile,  may  be  tamed, 
and   many   of   these   have   been   tamed.      But  man's 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES.  27 

tongue  is  as  lawless,  as  unbridled  now  as  in  the  days 
of  Cain.  Civilization  refines  and  polishes  the  rough 
and  savage  forces,  it  subdues  the  brutal  passions  and 
curbs  the  wicked  license  of  the  tongue.  So  some  ex- 
ultantly tell  us.  As  a  matter  of  fact  civilization  seems 
only  to  add  to  the  cruelty  of  speech  by  supplying  a 
vocabulary  of  cultured  terms  and  phrases  that  are 
practically  inexhaustible.  Culture  has  not  drawn  a 
single  fang  of  this  wild  beast ;  it  has  not  lessened  by  a 
single  drop  the  poison-bag  of  this  viper. 

Besides,  James  notes  its  glaring  inconsistencies 
(Vers.  9-12).  At  one  time  the  tongue  worships  God, 
at  another  curses  men.  Now  it  sings  a  glad  song  of 
praise,  anon  it  blackens  a  noble  character  and  blasts  a 
good  name.  "My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so 
to  be."  They  ought  not,  because  contradictory  and 
unnatural.  The  forces  of  nature  never  exhibit  such 
flagrant  inconsistencies.  A  spring  never  yields  salt 
water  and  fresh;  it  obeys  the  law  of  its  nature,  so 
does  a  tree.  So  should  the  tongue;  but  alas,  it  does 
not.  Every  Christian  needs  to  pray,  "Deliver  my 
soul,  O  Jehovah,  from  lying  lips  and  a  deceitful 
tongue"  (Psalm  cxx:  2). 

IV.  Denunciation  of  a  barren  orthodoxy  (ii:  14-26). 
At  first  sight  there  appears  to  be  real  antagonism  be- 
tween the  teaching  of  Paul  and  of  James  on  the  im- 
portant subject  of  faith  and  works.  Is  there  no  dis- 
crepancy between  these  two  men  of  God  as  to  the  doc- 
trine of  justification?  Apparently  there  is.  Paul 
writes  (Rom.  iii:  28),  "Therefore  we  conclude  that  a 
man  is  justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law." 


28  EPISTLE    OF    JAMES. 

James  writes  (ii:  24,  26),  "Ye  see  how  that  by  works 
a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith  only;"  "faith  with- 
out works  is  dead."  Paul  teaches  (Rom.  iv)  that 
Abraham  was  justified  by  faith;  James,  by  works  (ii: 
21).  But  after  all  the  antagonism  disappears  when 
we  come  to  understand  the  aim  and  the  design  of  each 
inspired  writer.  Paul  treats  exclusively  of  the  ground 
of  our  justification,  and  he  affirms  that  works  form  no 
part  of  it,  that  legal  righteousness  is  absolutely  and 
forever  excluded  as  the  ground  and  cause  of  our  rec- 
onciliation and  acceptance  with  God.  James  deals 
with  the  evidence  of  the  reality  and  energy  of  our 
faith.  Paul  protests  against  human  merit  as  being 
part  of  our  justification  before  God.  James  protests 
against  a  barren  orthodoxy  which  says^  but  never  does; 
which  pretends  to  be  true  and  loyal,  but  which 
haughtily  refuses  to  feed  the  hungry  and  clothe  the 
naked;  which  recites  weekly  or  daily  even  a  perfectly 
sound  creed,  but  which  does  not  work  itself  out  in 
devotion  of  life  and  whole-hearted  service.  Paul 
speaks  of  the  cause,  James  of  the  effect  of  that  cause. 
Paul's  theme  is  the  tree,  James'  its  fruit.  Suppose  I 
say,  using  another's  illustration,  a  tree  cannot  be 
struck  by  lightning  without  thunder,  I  state  a  fact 
familar  to  all;  there  can  be  no  destructive  lightning 
unaccompanied  by  thunder.  But  I  further  say,  the 
tree  was  struck  by  lightning  without  thunder,  which  is 
also  true,  for  it  is  the  electric  bolt  that  strikes,  not  the 
report  that  accompanies  it.  So  Paul  says,  "Faith  justi- 
fies without  works,  i.  e.,  faith  alone  justifies  us,  not 
works."    James  says,  "But  not  a  faith  which  is  with- 


EPISTLE    OF    JAMES.  29 

out  works."  Put  it  in  a  single  sentence,  thus:  Faith 
alone  justifies,  but  not  the  faith  which  is  alone. 
Lightning  alone  strikes,  but  not  the  lightning  which  is 
alone,  without  thunder,  for  that  is  summer  lightning 
and  harmless.  James  teaches  with  equal  truth  as  does 
Paul,  that  the  faith  which  makes  loud  profession  but 
which  never  manifests  its  energy  and  life  in  the  activi- 
ties of  good  works  is  dead,  being  alone,  and  it  is 
worthless. 


FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PETER 


Simon  Peter  was  a  native  of  Galilee  and  by  occu- 
pation a  fisherman.  He  was  brought  to  the  Saviour 
early  in  His  ministry  by  his  brother  Andrew  (John  i: 
40,  41).  Andrew  and  his  friend  John  heard  the  Bap- 
tist bear  his  very  remarkable  witness  to  Jesus  as  he 
saw  Him  approaching,  "Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world"  (John  i:  29, 
36).  Their  confidence  in  their  teacher  led  the  two 
young  men  to  follow  Jesus  to  whom  the  double  testi- 
mony was  borne,  and  at  His  invitation  they  spent  the 
day  with  Him.  Andrew  was  won  by  the  interview, 
and  he  speedily  acquainted  his  brother  Simon  with  the 
great  discovery,  "We  have  found  the  Messiah  (which 
is,  being  interpreted,  Christ),  He  brought  him  unto 
Jesus."  Apparently  this  incident  did  not  issue  in  a 
definite  call  to  become  a  disciple.  At  a  somewhat  later 
period  Peter  received  the  call  which  made  him  a  dis- 
ciple and  which  predicted  his  future  ministry  for 
Christ,  "a  fisher  of  men"  (Matt,  iv:  18-20;  Mark  i: 
16-18;  Luke  v:  10,  11).  His  call  to  become  an  apostle 
is  recorded  in  Matt,  x:  1-4;  Mark  iii:  13-16). 

Peter  occupies  a  distinguished  place  among  the 
Lord's  disciples.  In  the  four  lists  of  the  Apostles  re- 
corded in  the  New  Testament  his  name  stands  first 
(Matt,  x:  2-4;  Mark  iii:  16-19;  Luke  vi:  14-16;  Acts 
i:  13).     Matthew  opens  his  list  with  the  significant 

30 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  31 

words,  "Now  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are 
these:  The  first  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter."  It  is 
difficult  to  determine  whether  "first"  denotes  his  call 
or  his  rank,  or  whether  both  ideas  may  be  embraced 
in  it.  The  fact,  however,  that  his  name  heads  all  the 
lists  invests  his  position  with  some  distinction,  if  not 
priority.  His  position,  however,  was  not  so  much 
the  result  of  his  appointment  by  the  Saviour  as  it  was 
that  of  his  personal  qualities,  his  intellectual  gifts  and 
endowments.  His  natural  talents  were  of  a  high 
order,  and  these  quickened  by  the  Spirit  fitted  him  to 
be  a  leader  among  men.  John  had  gifts  superior  even 
to  those  of  Peter,  and  they  were  more  rare.  But  John 
was  not  a  leader  like  Peter.  Paul  in  many  of  his  great 
qualities  and  talents  surpassed  both  Peter  and  John. 
No  doubt  others  of  the  apostolic  band  had  elements  of 
distinction  peculiarly  their  own.  But  Peter  held  a 
place  not  shared  by  others.  He,  James,  and  John  be- 
longed to  the  inner  circle  of  the  apostleship.  The 
three  were  present  at  the  raising  of  Jairus'  daughter, 
at  the  magnificent  scene  of  the  Transfiguration,  and  at 
Gethsemane  during  the  awful  Agony. 

He  was  a  leader  in  a  sense  more  distinct  and  promi- 
nent than  the  others.  He  is  the  chief  figure  in  the 
first  twelve  chapters  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  It 
is  Peter  that  proposes  a  successor  to  the  fallen  Judas, 
he  that  preaches  the  first  Christian  sermon  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost  and  has  the  indescribable  joy  of  seeing 
three  thousand  turned  to  the  Lord  by  that  one  dis- 
course ;  he  that  opens  the  door  to  the  Gentile  world  in 
the  house  of  the  Roman  soldier,  Cornelius,  and  that 


32  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

again  has  the  exquisite  dehght  of  witnessing  scenes 
that  closely  approach  those  of  Pentecost  at  Jerusalem. 
Indeed,  the  supernatural  gift  of  the  Spirit  to  Cor- 
nelius and  his  friends  was  a  second  Pentecost.  It  was 
given  him  to  pronounce  sentence  on  the  guilty  pair, 
Ananias  and  Sapphira,  and  to  rebuke  in  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  the  profane  and  wicked  Simon  the 
sorcerer.  In  these  and  the  like  instances  Peter  ex- 
erted the  authority  given  him  by  Christ  Himself,  viz. : 
to  bind  and  to  loose  (Matt,  xvi :  19) — an  authority  be- 
stowed by  the  Head  of  the  new  Organization,  the 
Church,  upon  all  the  disciples  (John  xx:  2.2,  23). 

It  was  to  him  that  Jesus  said,  "Thou  art  Peter  and 
on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church"  (Matt,  xvi:  18). 
This  great  promise  was  made  Peter  in  consequence  of 
his  memorable  confession,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God."  It  was  the  Father  who  had 
revealed  this  mighty  truth  to  him,  as  the  Lord  Jesus 
assures  him.  He  had  not  discovered  it  for  himself, 
he  never  could  have  done  so,  nor  had  it  been  disclosed 
to  him  by  any  creature  whatever.  The  knowledge  of 
the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ  was  a  matter  of  revelation, 
not  of  sense  perception  in  any  way.  "Flesh  and 
blood"  did  not  reveal  it  to  him_,  nor  could.  God  alone 
could.  In  consequence  of  this  deep  insight  into  Jesus' 
true  character,  because  of  the  divine  revelation  made 
him,  and  because  of  his  noble  confession,  Jesus  pro- 
nounced him  blessed  and  gave  him  officially  the  new 
name  which  He  had  said  should  be  his  (John  i:  42), 
viz. :  Peter,  the  rock-man,  the  firm  witness  of  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.     It  is  common  for 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


33 


the  Lord  to  change  the  name  of  favored  servants 
when  some  supreme  crisis  comes  upon  them,  as  Saul 
receives  the  name  of  Paul  when  in  Cyprus  he  showed 
power  such  as  he  had  never  before  displayed  (Acts 
xiii:  8-12)  ;  Abram  becomes  Abraham  when  the  Cove- 
nant of  God  is  made  with  him  (Gen.  xvii :  5)  ;  and 
Jacob  becomes  Israel,  the  Prince  with  God,  when  the 
angel  wrestled  with  him  (Gen.  xxxii:  2^,  28).  The 
words,  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  church,"  most  certainly  do  not  mean  that  by  them 
Peter  was  made  the  foundation  of  the  Christian 
Church,  for  Christ  alone  is  the  foundation,  as  Peter 
himself  affirms  (i  Peter  ii:  3-8).  The  apostle  here 
declares  that  Christ  is  the  "living  Stone,"  that  He  is 
the  "chief  corner-stone,  elect,  precious,"  that  believers 
are  built  up  "a  spiritual  house,"  resthig  as  they  do  on 
Him  who  is  the  Corner-stone.  Peter  himself  is  a 
stone  in  this  heavenly  structure,  and  he  is  nothing 
more.  Paul  likewise  asserts  that  Christ  alone  is  the 
foundation  of  the  whole  Christian  building  (i  Cor. 
iii:  11),  "For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than 
that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ."  Also  in 
Eph.  ii :  20-22  he  teaches  in  exact  accord  with  Peter 
that  Christ  is  the  chief  corner-stone,  that  upon  Him 
are  built,  first,  the  apostles  and  prophets,  who  are  a 
foundation  as  resting  on  Him,  and  then  all  the  saincs 
rise  into  a  holy  temple  upon  the  same  foundation  and 
corner-stone.  Far  less  do  these  words  denote  that 
thereby  Peter  was  constituted  the  head  of  the  Chris- 
tian Body,  that  universal  supremacy  was  conferred 
upon  him,  and  that  he  transmitted  this  stupendous 
3 


34  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

authority  to  his  successors  in  office,  the  Bishops  of  the 
Roman  See.  That  great  colossal  structure  known  as 
the  Roman  Hierarchy,  with  the  infallible  Pontiff  at 
its  head,  rests,  not  on  the  Apostle  Simon  Peter,  but 
mainly  on  the  forged  documents  of  the  Isidorian 
Decretals,*  and  the  Donation  of  Constantine. 

In  spite  of  his  many  noble  qualities  and  traits,  and 
notwithstanding  the  precious  gifts  bestowed  upon  him, 
Peter  nevertheless  was  too  feeble  and  fallible  a  man 
ever  to  become  the  rock  on  which  Christ's  Church 
should  rest.  He  was  too  readily  defeated  by  tempta- 
tion, too  easily  swayed  by  prejudice,  too  often  con- 
quered by  fear,  to  be  such  a  Rock.  A  few  hours  after 
Jesus  said,  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  church,"  the  awful  words  of  rebuke  fell  on 
his  startled  ears,  "Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan ;  thou  art 
an  offence  unto  me ;  for  thou  mindest  not  the  things 
that  be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of  men"  (Matt,  xvi: 
22,  23).  The  opening  words  of  this  reprimand  are 
the  same  Christ  used  to  repel  the  adversary  in  the 
Temptation  (Matt,  iv:  10).  "Offence"  is  really  a 
stumbling-block  over  which  Satan  by  poor  Peter  was 
seeking  to  cast  down  the  Son  of  God !  How  quickly 
and  how  unwittingly  the  Rock-man  becomes  a  devil! 
Honored  servant  of  Christ  as  he  was,  he  was  too  weak 

*  **  Upon  these  spurious  decretals  was  built  the  great  fabric 
of  papal  supremacy  over  the  dififerent  national  Churches:  a 
fabric  which  has  stood  after  its  foundation  had  crumbled  be- 
neath it;  for  no  one  has  pretended  to  deny,  for  the  last  two 
centuries,  that  the  imposture  is  too  palpable  for  any  but  the 
most  ignorant  ages  to  credit."    Hallam's  Middle  Ages,  p.  274. 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


35 


a  man  to  be  the  foundation  upon  which  a  soul  might 
rest ;  he  was  too  often  at  f auh  to  be  even  the  best  pat- 
tern for  any  devout  and  earnest  believer.  One  alone 
there  is  who  is  worthy  of  supreme  confidence  and  imi- 
tation, Christ,  who  never  was  at  fault,  never  made  a 
mistake,  who  was  absolutely  without  sin.  He  is  our 
Example. 

But  let  us  turn  to  Peter's  Epistles.  Two  are 
ascribed  to  him.  Of  the  first  the  genuineness  is  with- 
out suspicion.  The  second  has  been  in  doubt  for  cen- 
turies. While  the  historical  attestation  of  its  integ- 
rity is  less  and  weaker  than  that  of  any  other  book  of 
the  New  Testament,  yet  it  is  retained  in  the  canon, 
and  is  held  to  be  Scripture  by  multitudes  of  Christians. 
But  of  its  trustworthiness  more  will  be  said  later  on  in 
this  Study. 

Peter  addresses  the  elect  sojourners  of  the  Disper- 
sion, i.  e.,  believing  Jews  who  were  scattered  through 
various  provinces  of  Asia  Minor.  These  Christian 
Hebrews  are  mainly  in  the  mind  of  the  apostle  as  he 
writes,  but  not  exclusively  so,  for  he  writes  to  Gentile 
believers  as  well,  as  i :  14;  ii :  lo;  iv:  3,  4  clearly  indi- 
cates. The  Asiatic  Provinces  Peter  mentions  appear 
to  have  contained  multitudes  of  Jews.  Representatives 
from  three  of  them  were  present  at  Pentecost  when 
Peter  preached  the  first  Christian  sermon.  The  three 
Provinces  are  Pontus,  Cappadocia  and  Asia  (Acts  ii : 
9;  I  Peter  i:  i).  Some,  perhaps  most  of  those,  who 
came  to  Jerusalem  on  that  memorable  occasion  from 
Asia  Minor  received  the  Gospel  and  returned  home  to 
spread  the  good  news  among  their  co-religionists.    It 


36  FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER. 

is  these  "elect  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion''  he  ad- 
dresses, for  Peter  adhered  rather  strictly  to  the  Jewish 
side  of  his  apostolic  mission,  though  he  does  not  shut 
out  the  Gentiles  from  his  instructions  and  his  encour- 
agements. 

The  First  Epistle  is  dated  from  Babylon  (v:  13). 
What  place  is  meant?  Two  bearing  the  name  existed 
in  the  apostolic  age.  There  was  a  Babylon  in  Egypt 
where  a  military  fortress  was  found,  and  where  a 
small  population  was  gathered.  The  persistent  tradi- 
tion of  the  Coptic  Church  dating  from  remote  antiquity 
alleges  that  it  was  from  this  Babylon  Peter  wrote  the 
epistle.  The  tradition  further  asserts  that  he  with 
Mark  labored  in  Egypt,  that  after  Peter's  death  Mark 
continued  the  Christian  testimony  and  founded  the 
church  of  Alexandria.  Few  besides  the  Copts  of 
Egypt  entertain  this  view. 

The  other  Babylon  is  the  ancient  capital  of  Chaldea 
on  the  Euphrates.  Jews  in  large  numbers  lived  in 
Babylon,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Hebrew  colony  there  was  not  destitute  of  influence 
and  importance.  As  the  Apostle  of  the  Circumcision 
it  is  very  probable  Peter  would  visit  such  a  center  as 
Babylon  appears  to  have  been  in  the  apostolic  age. 
The  words,  "She  that  is  in  Babylon,  elect  together 
with  you,"  may  point  to  a  Christian  woman  and  not 
to  a  church  (see  Amer.  Rev.),  as  what  follows  seems 
to  intimate — "and  so  doth  Marcus  my  son."  Both  ex- 
pressions denote  an  individual,  the  first  probably 
Peter's  wife  who  accompanied  her  husband  on  his 
missionery  tours  (cf.  i  Cor.  ix:  5).    The  second  was 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


37 


John  Mark,  son  of  Mary  (Acts  xii:  12).  The  order 
in  which  Peter  mentions  the  Asiatic  Provinces  (i:  i) 
favors  the  view  that  the  Babylon  of  Chaldea  is  meant. 
He  begins  with  the  eastern  part  of  Asia  Minor,  with 
Pontus,  and  then  passes  westward  and  southward  to 
Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  then  northward  and  west- 
ward to  Bithynia.  It  is  exactly  the  order  one  would 
mention  if  placed  at  Babylon  on  the  Euphrates,  and 
certainly  not  if  he  were  stationed  in  the  extreme  west, 
say  at  Rome,  or  in  the  extreme  south,  as  Egypt.  The 
weight  of  evidence  appears  to  incline  to  the  Chaldean 
Babylon,  though  ancient  tradition  as  to  Peter's  being 
there  is  silent. 

From  an  early  period  a  mystic  interpretation  was 
given  the  term — Babylon  is  Rome.  Almost  all  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  writers  so  understand  it,  and  some 
Protestant  interpreters  as  well.  But  this  apocalyptic 
disguise  accords  badly,  indeed  most  discordantly,  with 
the  plain  matter  of  fact  writing  which  the  epistle  dis' 
plays.  Such  a  symbolic  meaning  of  the  name  is  per- 
fectly  consistent  with  the  book  of  Revelation;  we 
expect  such  veiled,  enigmatic  use  of  terms  in  that  book. 
It  is  altogether  foreign  to  Peter.  The  wish  to  find 
biblical  support  for  the  tradition  of  Peter's  sojourn  in 
Rome  may  have  led  to  this  interpretation ;  it  is  the 
only  apparent  proof  from  Scripture  that  can  be  ad- 
duced; but  it  has  no  weight  with  those  who  are  not 
ruled  by  uncertain  tradition. 

Peter's  Epistles  bear  resemblance  to  other  New 
Testament  writings,  particularly  to  those  of  Paul,  of 
James,  and  to  the  words  of  our  Lord  in  the  Gospels. 


38  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

But  Peter  was  no  copiest.  He  possessed  much  inde- 
pendence of  thought  and  originaHty.  His  fervid  spirit 
and  vigorous  thinking  impress  themselves  deeply  on 
his  letters.  And  yet  he  has  characteristics  that  are 
worthy  of  patient  and  earnest  study.  Let  us  point  out 
some  of  these. 

I.  A  notable  feature  is  the  wonderful  adaptation  to 
various  classes,  and  to  the  manifold  experiences  of 
life.  President  Henry  G.  Weston  in  a  special  study 
of  John  xxi  suggestively  notes  the  connection  between 
the  Saviour's  threefold  charge  to  Peter  (John  xxi: 
15-17)  and  Peter's  epistles.  The  charge  is  thus  rep- 
resented in  the  Revision :  "Feed  my  lambs ;  Tend  my 
sheep;  Feed  my  sheep."  Two  classes  are  here  indi- 
cated, babes  and  the  mature.  And  the  two  epistles 
certify  how  faithfully  the  apostle  obeyed  the  charge. 
With  loving  and  tender  hand  this  under-shepherd 
feeds  the  lambs,  tends  the  whole  flock,  feeds  the 
strong,  guards  from  danger,  warns  against  foes,  leads 
into  green  pastures  and  beside  still  waters.  How 
mightily  he  ministers  to  those  who  suffer!  He  re- 
minds them  of  the  glorious  inheritance  they  are  to 
possess  (i:  3-9).  He  bids  them  remember  the  un- 
complaining Christ  when  He  was  unjustly  afflicted  by 
cruel  men  (ii:  20-25).  He  tells  them  of  the  noble 
vindication  they  shall  have  when  the  Lord  shall  take 
up  their  cause  at  His  own  judgment-seat  (iv:  12-18). 
Much  of  the  First  Epistle  is  designed  to  comfort  the 
suffering  saints,  to  stimulate  them  to  steadfastness,  to 
encourage  them  amid  their  fierce  trials,  and  to  assure 
them    of    the    glorious    future    that    awaited    th^nu 


FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER. 


39 


"Honor  all  men."  "Love  the  brotherhood."  "Fear 
God."  "Honor  the  king."  And  this  was  written  when 
persecution  was  raging,  when  that  human  monster,  the 
world's  colossal  criminal,  Caesar  Nero,  was  on  the  im- 
perial throne,  and  when  Christians  were  regarded  as 
the  foes  of  humanity.  The  spirit  of  the  world  in  the 
like  cases  says,  Resist,  arm  for  defence  and  fight  for 
your  rights  and  your  lives.  The  Spirit  of  Christ  says, 
Arm  for  martyrdom  (iv:  i).  "If  ye  suffer  for  right- 
eousness' sake,  happy  are  ye"  (iii:  14).  Keep  before 
you  the  Master's  example,  "who,  when  he  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again ;  when  he  suffered  he  threatened  not ; 
but  committed  himself  to  him  that  judgeth  righteously" 
(ii:  23).  The  apostle  calls  this  matchless  behavior  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  under  unjust  treatment  a  copy  we  are 
to  imitate.  His  walk  and  His  ways  we  are  to  tran- 
scribe into  our  own  lives.  "He  wrote  us  a  pure  and 
perfect  copy  of  obedience,  in  clear  and  great  letters,  in 
His  own  blood.  He  that  aims  high  shoots  the  higher 
for  it,  though  he  shoot  not  so  high  as  he  aims'* 
(Leighton). 

Such  is  the  main  teaching  of  the  first  epistle.  That 
of  the  second  relates  to  the  perils  of  false  doctrine, 
false  brethren,  unscrupulous  corruptors  of  the  church 
and  of  the  Gospel,  and  deniers  of  fundamental  and 
vital  truth.  What  must  Christians  do  in  the  presence 
of  these  formidable  adversaries?  How  shall  they 
keep  themselves  in  the  love  and  the  holiness  of  God? 
From  the  world  they  are  patiently  to  suffer.  But 
from  these  more  dangerous  enemies  how  are  they  to 
g^ard  themselves?     Second  Peter  answers  these  and 


40  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

the  like  solemn  queries.  And  thus  Peter  obeys  the 
Lord's  injunctions  to  "feed  my  lambs;  tend  my  sheep; 
feed  my  sheep." 

2.  Hope.  This  is  the  epistle  of  Hope.  How  much 
it  makes  of  this  prime  grace!  Peter  seems  never  to 
grow  weary  of  defining  hope,  describing  it,  and  in 
turning  it  from  side  to  side  to  exhibit  its  manifoldness, 
its  radiant  beauty  in  every  circumstance  and  condition 
of  life.  He  calls  it  a  ''living  hope"  (i:  3).  It  is  living 
because  to  hope  is  one  of  the  supreme  functions  of  the 
new  nature;  the  believer  is  begotten  "unto  a  living 
hope."  No  sooner  do  we  receive  the  Spirit  of  adop>- 
tion  and  cry,  Abba,  Father,  than  is  hope  born,  and 
fills  our  whole  horizon  with  its  radiant  splendors.  It 
is  a  hope  that  will  never  put  to  shame,  for  it  rests  on 
the  mighty  fact  and  pledge  of  Christ's  resurrection. 

It  is  a  hope  that  perfectly  awaits  the  grace  to  be  re- 
vealed at  the  advent  of  our  Lord,  a  hope  that  will 
find  its  full  fruition  then  and  not  till  then  (i:  13).  It 
is  a  hope  that  is  set  on  God,  is  in  Him,  therefore  it  is 
sure,  imperishable  (i:  21).  Moreover,  it  is  one  that 
can  give  a  reason  for  itself,  that  can  assert  itself  and 
defend  itself  victoriously  against  all  gainsayers,  be- 
cause it  is  living,  confident,  imperishable,  for  it  is  set 
on  God  (iii:  15).  So,  a  Christian  is  one  who  can  sing 
with  the  psalmist,  "Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my 
soul?  Why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me?  Hope  in 
God,  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him  who  is  the  help  of  my 
countenance  and  my  God"  (Psalms  xiii :  11). 

With  sickly,  dying  hope  and  with  dead  hopes  we 
are  quite  familiar.    The  best  device  a  nobleman  could 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


41 


inscribe  on  his  escutcheon  was  diim  spiro  spero  (while 
I  Hve  I  hope).  Beyond  that  it  seems  he  could  not 
venture  to  go.  "It  is  a  fearful  thing  when  a  man  and 
all  his  hopes  die  together"  (Leighton).  But  a  Chris- 
tian can  write  joyfully  and  confidently,  dum  expiro 
spero  (while  I  am  dying  I  hope),  for  his  hope  is  liv- 
ing, has  life  in  itself,  and  fills  and  thrills  the  future 
with  living  reality.  This  is  the  hope  Peter  celebrates, 
this  he  urges  on  his  readers,  this  he  prizes  above  all 
else  in  the  world. 

3.  A  third  characteristic  of  the  epistle  is  this: 
Peter's  conception  of  the  Christian  brotherhood,  the 
Church  of  God.  It  is  a  very  exalted  one.  He  sets 
the  new  Israel  in  the  loftiest  place,  he  describes  it  in 
terms  that  were  applied  to  the  old  Israel,  but  terms 
which  with  the  Apostle  mean  more  and  include  more 
than  ancient  Israel  realized.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  this  conception  is  by  one  who  was  a  strict  Jew, 
who,  after  his  call  to  discipleship  and  apostleship,  still 
ministered  to  the  circumcision  (Gal.  ii :  7,  8),  and  who 
held  somewhat  strictly  to  the  laws  and  customs  of 
Moses  to  the  close  of  his  life.  All  the  more  striking 
and  significant  on  this  account  his  remarkable  testi- 
mony is : — ii :  9,  10,  "But  ye  are  an  elect  race,  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  people  for  God's  own 
possession,  that  ye  may  show  forth  the  excellencies  of 
him  who  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvel- 
lous light:  who  in  time  past  were  no  people  but  now 
are  the  people  of  God :  who  had  not  obtained  mercy, 
but  now  have  obtained  mercy."  This  is  his  wondrous 
description  of  God's  new  Israel.     What  a  cluster  of 


42  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

illustrious  titles  are  here!  A  distinguished  man,  a 
general,  or  a  nobleman,  a  statesman  or  an  admiral,  will 
sometimes  have  his  breast  covered  with  glittering  dec- 
orations, which  mark  his  rank,  his  service  and  his 
achievements.  But  such  distinctions  sink  into  insig- 
nificance alongside  of  this  dazzling  cluster.  Each  one 
of  them  belonged  to  ancient  Israel,  but  they  were  lost 
through  disobedience  and  forfeited  by  unfaithfulness 
and  sin.  They  pertain  now  to  the  spiritual,  the  new 
Israel  who  are  kept  in  God's  power  unto  salvation. 
This  is  the  heavenly  nobility,  the  royal  family,  deco- 
rated with  badges  brighter  than  ever  glittered  on  the 
breast  of  king  or  emperor ! 

4.  A  fourth  characteristic  is  this :  the  epistle  does 
not  observe  a  close  logical  sequence  in  its  structure, 
as  those  of  Paul  so  prominently  display.  There  is 
truth  in  Alford's  statement,  though  perhaps  he  pushes 
it  too  far :  "The  link  between  one  idea  and  another 
is  found,  not  in  any  progress  of  unfolding  thought  or 
argument,  but  in  the  last  word  of  the  foregoing  sen- 
tence which  is  taken  up  and  followed  out  in  the  new 
one."  (See  i:  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  etc.)  This  peculiarity, 
however,  does  not  interfere  with  the  unity  of  the 
epistle,  it  rather  adds  to  it,  and  it  gives  it  a  vividness 
and  fulness  of  exposition  which  it  otherwise  would  not 
possess.  All  the  chief  doctrines  of  Christianity  are 
found  in  it.  The  vicarious  suffering  and  death  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (ii:  24);  the  new  birth  (i:  23); 
redemption  by  the  blood  of  Christ  (i:  18,  19)  ;  faith, 
hope,  patient  endurance  under  suffering  and  holiness 
of  life  are  all  taught  and  enforced  with  great  earnest- 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


43 


ness  and  force  by  the  apostle.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
amid  the  trials  coming  on  Christians  at  the  time  the 
main  ground  of  encouragement  and  exhortation  is 
the  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  blessedness  and 
glory  they  shall  then  uninterruptedly  enjoy.  But  this 
is  characteristic  of  the  Bible.  The  Spirit  uniformly 
keeps  before  the  minds  of  the  suffering  saints  in  every 
book  of  Scripture  the  Blessed  Hope  of  the  Lord's  re- 
turn to  the  world  and  the  glorious  deliverance  and  ex- 
altation of  all  who  wait  for  Him.  This  is  made  their 
comfort  and  their  strength  in  the  day  of  their  trouble 
and  distress.  May  it  be  personally  and  consciously 
ours. 

ANALYSIS. 
(General.) 
I.     Christian  Privilege,  chaps,     i-ii:  lo. 
IL    Christian  Duties,  chaps,  ii:  ii-v. 

(Particular.) 

1.  Salutation,  i:  i,  2. 

2.  Blessedness  of  salvation,  i:  3-12. 

3.  Exhortation,  i:  ;3-i6. 

4.  Redemption,  i:  17-25. 

5.  Exhortation,  ii:  1-3. 

6.  Calling  and  Standing  of  believers,  ii:  4-10. 

7.  Exhortation,  ii:  11-20. 

8.  Christ's  Example — character  and  work  ii:  21-25. 

9.  Various  Exhortations,  iii-v. 

a.  Behavior  toward  one  another,  iii:  1-12. 

b.  Fidelity  under  Trial,  iii:  13-22. 

c.  Behavior  under  persecution,  iv:  1-19. 

d.  Duties  of  Elders,  v.  1-4. 

c.     Humility  and  Vigilance,  v:  5-10. 
f.     Conclusion,  v:  11-14. 


44  FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER. 

The  epistle  is  rich  in  the  glorious  doctrines  that  it 
unfolds,  and  powerful  in  its  appeals  to  Christians. 
The  inspired  writer  knows  what  these  suffering  saints 
need  and  all  they  need,  and  he  speaks  to  their  very 
heart.  He  views  them  as  pilgrims  and  strangers 
walking  across  the  earth  toward  their  true  home,  their 
heavenly  country.  He  urges  them  to  do  no  harm  to 
any,  to  do  what  good  they  can  to  all,  to  bear  patiently 
the  cruel  wrongs  they  unjustly  suffer,  to  copy  their 
Lord  who  **did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his 
mouth,"  to  remember  the  noble  name  they  bear,  and 
the  glory  of  the  heritage  which  soon  shall  be  theirs. 

Some  prominent  things  in  First  Peter  may  engage 
our  attention  briefly. 

r.  The  Christian's  glorious  inheritance  (i:  3-5). 
In  this  majestic  sentence  two  things  are  made  pre- 
eminent; first,  the  nature  of  the  inheritance;  second, 
the  certainty  of  its  attainment.  The  inheritance  is  de- 
scribed by  four  significant  epithets  (ver.  4).  It  is  de- 
clared to  be  "incorruptible."  This  word  points  to  its 
substance.  It  is  imperishable.  In  it  there  is  no  ele- 
ment of  decay.  It  holds  in  its  heart  no  germ  of  death. 
Like  its  great  Author,  the  living  God,  it  is  unchange- 
able and  eternal  in  its  being.  Of  no  heritage  of  earth 
can  this  magnificent  term  "incorruptible"  be  used. 
Imperfection  and  corruption  attach  to  all  earthly  pos- 
sessions. Sooner  or  later  they  pass  from  their  owners 
or  the  owners  pass  from  them.  But  this  is  subject  to 
no  loss  nor  change  nor  surprise.  In  every  way  it  is 
inviolable.  Violence  is  not  heard  in  that  land,  wasting 
nor  destruction  in  her  borders  (Isa.  Ix:  18). 


FIRST   EriSTT.E    OF    PETER.  45 

The  inheritance  is  described  as  "undefiled."  It  is 
not  stained  by  sin  nor  defiled  by  any  crime,  either  in 
its  acquisition  or  its  possession.  Human  heritages  are 
all  marred  by  human  wrongs.  There  is  hardly  an 
acre  of  soil  on  earth  that  is  not  polluted  by  iniquity; 
there  is  not  an  estate  the  world  over  that  is  not  stained 
by  fraud  or  violence.  The  very  coin  that  passes  from 
hand  to  hand  is  in  most  cases  soiled  by  guilt.  But  this 
of  Peter  is  free  from  every  taint  of  evil.  Into  the 
heavenly  inheritance  shall  in  no  wise  enter  whatsoever 
worketh  abomination  or  maketh  a  lie  (Rev.  xxi:  2.^^. 

It  is  one  that  **fadeth  not  away."  That  is,  is  un- 
withering.  Ages  on  ages  do  not  impair  its  beauty  nor 
dim  its  lustre.  Its  bloom  will  remain  fresh,  its  fra- 
grance unimpaired,  forever.  The  bliss  of  the  saved 
will  never  diminish,  the  pleasures  at  God's  right  hand 
never  cloy.  After  millions  of  years  in  heaven  the 
saved  will  know  no  weariness  nor  satiety,  for  their 
inheritance  is  unfading  and  unfailing.  Peter  describes 
it  also  as  a  '^'crown  of  life  that  fadeth  not  away" 
(v:  4).  "In  thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy;  at  thy 
right  hand  there  are  pleasures  forevermore"  (Psalms 
xvi:  11).  "So  that  our  inheritance  is  glorious  in  these 
three  respects:  it  is  in  substance,  incorruptible:  in 
purity,  undefiled:  in  beauty,  unfading"  (Alford). 

"Reserved  in  heaven."  This  is  the  last  and  the 
crowning  feature.  The  saints'  inheritance  is  heavenly, 
and  it  is  reserved  in  heaven.  This  marks  its  worth  and 
excellence,  and  likewise  its  security.  It  is  surpassingly 
rich  and  lovely  because  it  is  heavenly.  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  central  object  of  it,  and  His  riches  are  unsearch- 


46  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

able ;  His  glory  infinite  and  eternal ;  His  love  all- 
sufficient  and  satisfying.  The  heritage  is  kept  there- 
fore safe  from  all  foes,  from  all  changes,  from  all 
waste.  It  is  free  from  all  possibiHty  of  invasion  from 
enemies  and  from  decay  in  itself. 

What  guarantees  have  believers  that  they  shall  come 
into  the  enjoyment  of  this  great  heritage?  The  best 
possible.  Many  an  inheritance  is  jeopardized  and  lost 
to  the  heirs  through  defective  title  or  dishonest  guar- 
dians. We  know  that  our  inheritance  is  secure,  for 
it  is  in  the  keeping  of  the  faithful  Creator.  But  we 
live  in  a  world  that  is  hostile  to  us  and  to  our  King; 
we  carry  within  ourselves  a  traitor  heart.  What  cer- 
tainty is  there  that  we  shall  actually  "possess  our  pos- 
sessions? (i.)  God's  power  is  our  pledge  in  this  be- 
half. We  are  kept  by  it.  The  term  for  kept  is  a  mili- 
tary one,  meaning  guarded,  protected  as  in  a  fortress 
or  citidal.  How  secure  must  they  be  who  have  God's 
power  for  their  guard  ?  We  can  triumphantly  exclaim 
with  the  prophet,  "We  have  a  strong  city;  salvation 
will  God  appoint  for  walls  and  bulwarks"  (Isa.  xxvi: 
i).  "The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower;  the 
righteous  runneth  into  it  and  is  safe"  (Prov. 
xviii:  lo).  The  heritage  is  reserved  in  heaven  for  the 
saints :  the  sainted  are  guarded  for  it  by  the  power  of 
God. 

(2.)  "Through  faith."  This  is  the  second  element 
in  the  security  of  the  saints.  It  is  God's  power  that 
preserves  them  unto  salvation;  it  is  their  faith  that 
lays  hold  on  the  power  and  makes  it  effective  in  them 
to  the  final  accomplishment  of  His  grace  in  their  be- 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


47 


half.  God's  power  is  the  efficient  cause,  faith  the 
effective  means.  The  two,  power  and  faith,  join  hands 
for  the  behever's  eternal  safety.  Let  the  force  of  the 
two  prepositions  in  and  through,  in  this  place,  be  well 
marked :  we  are  guarded  in  the  power  of  God  through 
faith.  Faith  brings  us  within  the  circle  of  the  divine 
power,  and  the  power  keeps  us  within  the  circle  of  the 
saved.  The  efficient  cause  becomes  inherent  in  the 
effective  means.  "For  by  grace  have  ye  been  saved 
through  faith:  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God"  (Eph.  ii:8,  R.  V.). 

(3.)  The  Living  Hope  is  still  another  pledge  of  our 
security.  The  order  of  the  words  as  Peter  wrote  them 
IS  this — "Begotten  us  again  unto  a  hope  living  through 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead."  His 
resurrection  is  the  very  life  of  our  hope.  "If  Christ 
be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain;  ye  are  yet  in  your 
sins"  (i  Cor.  xv:  17).  A  darkness  more  terrible  than 
that  of  the  grave  enshrouds  eternity,  if  He  is  not 
risen.  It  is  remarkable  that  hope,  as  a  Christian  grace 
and  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  is  not  found  in  any  of  the  four 
Gospels.  It  comes  into  prominence,  it  flowers  out 
with  magnificent  exuberance,  only  after  Christ's  res- 
urrection. It  then  becomes  a  living  and  mighty  force 
in  the  believer's  spirit;  it  then  serves  to  strengthen 
his  faith,  keep  him  firm  and  steady  amid  trouble  and 
gloom,  and  to  fill  his  present  with  light  and  joy,  his 
future  with  indescribable  glory. 

In    this    great    passage    we    have     four    things: 

(1)  God's  mercy,  the  primary  cause  in  our  salvation; 

(2)  Christ's  death   and    resurrection,  the   procuring 


48  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

cause;  (3)  regeneration,  the  formal  cause;  (4)  bliss, 
the  final  cause. 

11.  The  prophets  and  their  study,  i:  10,  11 : — "Con- 
cerning which  salvation  the  prophets  sought  and 
searched  diligently,  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that 
should  come  unto  you:  searching  what  time  or  what 
manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them 
did  point  unto,  when  it  testified  beforehand  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  and  the  glories  that  should  follow 
them"  (R.  V.). 

(i)  The  testimony  of  the  prophets.  With  Peter 
and  his  fellow  apostles  their  testimony  is  authoritative 
and  final.  In  his  sermon  at  Pentecost  he  confirmed 
his  inspired  teaching  by  an  appeal  to  two  of  the 
prophets,  Joel  and  David.  On  a  subsequent  occasion 
(Acts  iii:  24)  he  cited  Moses  to  r-atify  what  he  was 
saying,  and  added  that  "all  the  prophets  from  Samuel 
and  those  that  followed  after,  as  many  as  have  spoken, 
have  likewise  foretold  of  these  days."  He  was  at  no 
loss  to  discover  the  Messiah  in  the  words  of  the 
prophets.  He  saw  in  them  unmistakable  predictions 
of  His  advent,  His  sufferings,  and  His  glories. 

(2)  The  burden  of  the  prophetic  communications 
was  salvation.  The  prophets  spoke  on  many  subjects ; 
they  had  to  exhort,  rebuke,  and  entreat  their  wayward 
contemporaries ;  to  denounce  sin,  to  announce  judg- 
ment upon  their  own  people  Israel  and  upon  the  Gen- 
tile nations  as  well.  But  ever  and  anon  their  vision 
would  be  filled  with  the  future  and  its  blessedness, 
their  voices  would  swell  into  rapture  as  they  saw  and 
foretold  the  great  salvation  to  be  brought  to  the  world 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF   PETER.  49 

and  the  grace  that  would  then  so  copiously  go  out  to 
men;  for  Messiah  was  to  suffer  the  just  for  the  un- 
just that  He  might  bring  us  to  God,  that  in  His  suffer- 
ing, His  triumph  and  His  finished  work,  redemption 
full  and  free  should  be  secured  to  all  who  trust  in 
Him.  In  its  most  comprehensive  sense  salvation  was 
the  prophets'  theme. 

(3)  The  prophets'  messages  were  in  reality  the 
message  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  It  was  He  who  testi- 
fied beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 
glories  that  should  follow.  The  prophets  always  dis- 
claim any  part  in  the  origination  of  their  messages. 
They  afiirm  in  the  most  positive  and  solemn  manner 
that  their  predictions  are  not  their  own,  but  God's, 
that  even  their  words  have  been  given  them.  Hence 
they  are  called  God's  "spokesmen"  and  God's 
"mouth"  (Exodus  iv:  15,  16;  vii:  i,  2).  Peter  him- 
self writes  of  the  source  and  the  authority  of  prophecy 
this  majestic  sentence:  "For  no  prophecy  ever  came 
by  the  will  of  man:  but  men  spake  from  God,  being 
moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit"  (2  Peter  i:  21). 

(4)  The  Prophets'  Study.  They  "inquired  and 
searched  diligently."  The  terms  are  strong  and  em- 
phatic. They  pored  over  the  predictions  which  the 
Spirit  had  revealed  through  themselves;  they  scruti- 
nized these  and  bent  their  minds  to  the  study  of  them 
with  the  most  eager,  prolonged  and  earnest  purpose. 
Two  points,  it  seems,  engaged  their  attention  more 
particularly,  viz. :  "What  and  what  manner  of  time 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  point  to." 
The  first  "what"  relates  to  the  date  when  Messiah 

4 


50  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

would  likely  appear ;  the  second  "what"  to  the  events 
and  circumstances  which  would  attend  His  advent. 
It  was  a  fruitful  theme  for  investigation,  one  that  not 
only  enlisted  the  whole  strength  of  their  minds,  but 
that  engaged  also  the  inquiry  of  nobler  students,  viz.: 
the  angels,  ver.  12 — "Which  things  angels  desire  to 
look  into." 

It  is  obvious  from  this  language  that  the  prophets 
did  not  always  understand  their  own  communications ; 
they  wrote  down  the  messages  they  received  from  the 
Spirit,  and  afterwards  they  gave  themselves  to  a  dili- 
gent search  into  the  contents  of  them.  Daniel  fur- 
nishes an  example  of  such  research.  He  studied  deeply 
the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah,  and  from  them  learned 
when  the  Babylonian  exile  should  terminate  (Dan. 
ix:  2).  Accordingly,  he  gave  himself  to  importunate 
prayer  that  Jehovah  would  forgive  His  people's  trans- 
gressions and  restore  them  to  their  land,  even  as  He 
had  promised.  Moreover,  it  is  quite  clear  from  the 
words  of  Daniel  that  he  did  not  uniformly  understand 
the  significance  of  the  divine  communications  which  he 
received,  and  that  he  sought  earnestly  to  do  so.  In 
vii :  28,  he  says,  "As  for  me,  Daniel,  my  thoughts  much 
troubled  me,  and  my  countenance  was  changed  in  me ! 
but  I  kept  the  matter  in  my  heart.**  "And  I  wondered 
at  the  vision,  but  none  understood  it"  (viii:  27).  He 
tells  us  that  one  heavenly  messenger  said  to  another, 
"Gabriel,  make  this  man  to  understand  the  vision" 
(viii:  16).  After  some  of  the  mighty  visions  he  re- 
mained without  strength  for  some  time,  he  even 
fainted,  and  was  "sick  certain  days"  (viii:  2"]).    Now, 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  51 

no  more  cogent  argument  for  the  verbal  inspiration  of 
the  prophetic  Scriptures  could  possibly  be  adduced 
than  this  fact.  For  it  is  beyond  question  that  if  the 
prophets  did  not  grasp  the  meaning  of  their  own  mes- 
sages, if  after  receiving  them  they  searched  them  to 
know  what  they  meant,  then  the  words  must  have  been 
given  them,  else  they  never  could  have  accurately  re- 
corded what  they  saw  and  heard.  It  is  utter  folly,  in 
the  presence  of  this  telling  fact,  to  talk  of  the 
''thoughts,"  or  the  "concepts,"  alone  being  given  them, 
and  then  they  clothed  these  in  such  language  as  they 
could  command.  If  this  was  the  method  by  which 
God  spoke  through  the  prophets  ( Heb.  i :  i ) ,  then  we 
can  have  no  certainty  that  the  communications  are  un- 
erringly true.  Mistakes  would  inevitably  occur  in  the 
recording  of  the  messages.  The  prophets  could  no 
more  have  faithfully  written  the  messages  than  could 
a  child  report  a  closely  reasoned  address  by  a  compe- 
tent man  on  an  abstruse  subject,  of  which  the  child 
knew  nothing.  The  very  words  were  also  given  the 
prophets.  Besides,  here  is  evidence  of  both  revela- 
tion and  inspiration.  God  revealed  to  the  prophets  the 
things  concerning  Christ  which  still  lay  in  the  distant 
future;  He  inspired  them  to  write  the  predictions  ex- 
actly as  they  had  been  revealed.  The  unaided  prophet 
could  no  more  have  foretold  the  future  nor  truthfully 
described  things  to  come  than  he  could  create  a  world. 

III.  Preaching  to  the  spirits  in  prison. 

"For  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the 
just  for  the  unjust  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God,  be- 
ing put  to  death  in  the  flesh,  but  quickened   by  the 


52  FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER. 

Spirit:  by  which  also  he  went  and  preached  unto  the 
spirits  in  prison;  which  sometime  were  disobedient, 
when  once  the  longsuffering  of  God  waited  in  the 
days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing,  wherein 
few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were  saved  by  water" 
(i  Peter  iii:  18-20). 

"Because  Christ  also  suffered  for  sins  once,  the 
righteous  for  the  unrighteous,  that  he  might  bring  us 
to  God ;  being  put  to  death  in  the  flesh,  but  made  alive 
in  the  spirit ;  in  which  also  he  went  and  preached  unto 
the  spirits  in  prison,  that  aforetime  were  disobedient, 
when  the  longsuffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing,  wherein  few, 
that    is,    eight    souls,    were    saved    through    water" 

(R.V.). 

Some  passages  of  Scripture  are,  as  is  well  known, 
obscure  and  difficult.  A  few  baffle  elucidation.  Gal. 
iii:  20  is  one  such  text: — **Now  a  mediator  is  not 
a  mediator  of  one ;  but  God  is  one."  Winer  says  there 
are  250  explanations  of  this  verse ;  Evans,  between  two 
and  three  hundred.  The  huge  number  serves  to  show 
how  puzzling  it  is.  "Baptism  for  the  dead,"  I  Cor. 
XV :  29  is  another,  and  women  to  be  veiled  because  of 
the  angels  (i  Cor.  xi:  10)  is  a  third.  This  of  First 
Peter,  as  also  the  kindred  text  in  iv :  6,  belongs  to  this 
class.  The  interpretations  and  applications  of  it  are 
multitudinous,  perplexing  and  contradictory  to  the  last 
degree.  Some  of  these  are  ludicrous,  and  some  are 
almost  shocking  in  their  temerity.  Many  interpreters, 
perhaps  a  majority  of  them,  evangelical,  sacramenta- 
rian  and  rationalistic,  insist  that  our  Lord  in  the  in- 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


53 


terval  between  His  death  and  His  resurrection  in  His 
human  spirit  actually  visited  the  abode  of  imprisoned 
spirits  in  Hades  and  proclaimed  to  them  in  some 
fashion  the  Gospel  of  salvation.  Some  samples  of 
this  view  are  here  appended.  "H  language  has  any 
meaning,  this  language  means  that  Christ,  when  His 
spirit  descended  into  the  lower  world,  proclaimed  the 
message  of  salvation  to  the  once  impenitent  dead." 
*'1{  the  fate  of  those  dead  sinners  was  not  irrevocably 
fixed  by  death,  then  it  must  be  clear  and  obvious  to 
the  very  meanest  understanding  that  neither,  of  neces- 
sity, is  ours"  (Farrar).  *'The  proof  texts  (i  Peter 
iii:  18-21 ;  iv:  6)  admit  of  no  other  interpretation  than 
that  the  historic  Christ  Himself,  made  alive  after  His 
death  for  a  higher  spiritual  existence,  proclaimed  the 
Gospel  to  the  unhappy  contemporaries  of  Noah,  who 
perished  in  the  flood"  (Van  Osterzee).  "In  i  Peter 
iii:  19  St.  Peter  teaches  that  God's  way  of  salvation 
does  not  end  with  life"  (Lange).  "To  all  who  are 
dead  at  the  time  of  the  last  judgment,  the  Gospel  has 
been  preached,  be  it  before  or  after  their  death" 
(Huther  in  Meyer).  "We  cannot  see  in  the  words 
anything  but  an  attestation  of  the  truth  which  the 
Church  Catholic  has  received  in  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
that  Christ  died  and  was  buried  and  descended  into 
Hell"  (Plumtre).  "I  understand  these  words  to  say 
that  our  Lord,  in  His  disembodied  state,  did  go  to  the 
place  of  detention  of  departed  spirits,  and  did  there 
announce  His  work  of  redemption,  preach  salvation,  in 
fact,  to  the  disembodied  spirits  of  those  who  refused 
to  obey  the  voice  of  God  when  the  judgment  of  the 


54  FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER. 

flood  was  hanging  over  them"  (Alford).  There  is  no 
mistaking  the  view  of  the  passage  held  by  these  dis- 
tinguished writers.  The  Hst  of  names  on  the  same 
side  might  be  greatly  lengthened.  But  weighty  as 
their  authority  is  as  interpreters  of  the  word  of  God, 
we  cannot  accept  the  view.  The  objections  to  it  are, 
we  think,  conclusive. 

This  is  one  of  the  very  few  texts  commonly  cited  in 
support  of  the  statement  in  the  so-called  Apostles' 
Creed  of  "our  Lord's  descent  into  Hell."  Gloag  is 
authority  for  the  remark  that  "this  article  was  added 
to  the  creed  at  a  late  period,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century,"  which  seems  to  prove  that  such  a 
belief  was  no  part  of  the  church's  primitive  confession, 
but  a  notion  received  long  after  the  decline  of  evan- 
gelical truth  had  set  in.  On  it  likewise  is  made  to  rest 
the  unscriptural  doctrine  of  the  deliverance  of  Old 
Testament  believers  from  Hades  and  their  translation 
to  heavenly  bliss  by  the  Saviour's  power.  Upon  it  also 
is  founded  the  theory  of  a  "second  probation,"  that  is, 
that  there  will  be  the  offer  of  salvation  to  the  impeni- 
tent after  their  death  and  before  or  at  the  time  of  the 
Final  Judgment. 

The  aim  of  this  study  is  to  discover  if  possible  the 
true  meaning  of  this  very  obscure  and  difficult  passage, 
and  not  to  attempt  an  exhaustive  examination  of  it. 
Two  words  seem  to  demand  a  brief  definition.  The 
term  "preached"  in  connection  with  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  denotes  always  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
the  offer  of  salvation  to  those  who  are  destitute  of  it. 
Rarely  does  it  signify  to  publish  or  to  proclaim,  in 


FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER.  55 

the  general  and  indefinite  sense;  only  some  five  times 
is  the  word  thus  translated  in  the  sixty  times  it  occurs 
in  the  New  Testament.  Here  it  must  certainly  be  un- 
derstood as  meaning  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  the 
offer  of  salvation  to  sinners. 

"Spirits"  are  beyond  peradventure  disembodied  hu- 
man spirits ;  they  are  not  fallen  angels  nor  demons,  as 
some  have  strangely  conjectured. 

Two  grave  questions  at  once  confront  him  who 
seeks  to  understand  Peter's  language:  i.  Who  are 
the  spirits  in  prison?  2.  When  did  Christ  preach  to 
them?  But  these  questions  are  not  here  discussed 
separately,  but  together.  In  fact,  they  are  so  intimately 
connected  that  the  treatment  of  the  one  involves  also 
that  of  the  other.  The  real  inquiry  may  be  thus  ex- 
pressed: When  and  to  whom  did  Christ  preach? 
The  answers  to  this  inquiry  by  the  commentators  are 
various,  conflicting,  and  in  some  cases  unsatisfactory 
and  misleading.  The  mere  mention  of  some  will  suf- 
fice to  secure  their  rejection.  It  has  been  conjectured 
that  Christ's  preaching  was  directed  against  the  devil 
and  his  angels.  The  right  understanding  of  the  phrase 
"spirits  in  prison"  rules  out  this  conjecture.  Or,  it 
was  a  proclamation  of  judgment  and  condemnation  to 
the  lost  in  perdition,  which  seems  to  be  forbidden  by 
the  true  meaning  of  "preached,"  or,  an  offer  of  salva- 
tion to  all  the  unholy  dead,  which  is  negatived  by 
Peter's  statement  that  these  "spirits  in  prison"  were 
men  who  in  the  days  of  Noah  were  disobedient.  The 
Apostle  expressly  says  the  preaching  was  limited  to 
the  antediluvians.    Or,  it  was  a  proclamation  to  those 


56  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

of  Noah's  time  who  repented  after  the  rain 
began  and  the  flood  was  set  in,  but  too  late  for 
them  to  escape  death.  There  is  not  the  sHghtest 
hint  that  any  of  the  scoffers  did  repent  even  after 
the  rising  dehige  deprived  them  of  all  hope  of  deliv- 
erance. Peter  elsewhere  declares  that  God  did  not 
spare  them,  that  He  overwhelmed  the  world  of  the 
ungodly  (2  Peter  ii:  5).  Scripture  furnishes  no  evi- 
dence whatever  that  any  of  the  apostate  antediluvians 
who  were  drowned  repented  and  were  saved  at  the 
last  moment.  The  whole  description  of  them  leads 
to  the  belief  that  Noah  and  his  household  alone  of 
that  entire  generation  were  children  of  God  and  saved. 

Some  other  interpretations  of  the  passage  deserve 
more  extended  notice,  and  to  these  we  now  turn. 

(i)  The  preaching  was  addressed  to  the  spirits  of 
the  Old  Testament  saints  who,  till  the  death  of  Christ, 
were  held  in  some  sort  of  detention  in  the  unseen 
world.  This  was  the  general  opinion  of  the  Early 
Fathers;  it  is  that  of  some  modern  interpreters  like- 
wise. Eph.  Iv:  8  is  cited  as  proof:  "When  he 
ascended  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave 
gifts  unto  men"  (cf.  Psalm  Ixviii:  18).  The  captives 
whom  the  triumphant  Lord  led  were  not  imprisoned 
saints,  but  enemies  of  Him  and  of  His  people.  Colos- 
sians  ii:  15  explains  who  these  were:  "Having 
despoiled  the  principalities  and  the  powers,  he  made 
a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in  it." 
If  "the  spirits"  mentioned  were  Old  Testament  saints 
they  could  not  be  prisoners.  They  had  believed  and 
obeyed  God.     But  Peter  declares  these  spirits  afore- 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


57 


time  were  disobedient,  and  that  they  lived  on  earth  in 
Noah's  day.  They  had  scornfully  rejected  the  divine 
testimony,  were  rebellious  and  apostate,  and  went  to 
prison  in  consequence.  They  were  not  saints  at  all, 
but  foes  of  God. 

Moreover,  the  term  prison,  which  occurs  some  forty 
times  in  the  New  Testament  as  denoting  a  place  of 
forcible  detention,  is  in  every  instance  employed  in  a 
bad  sense,  i.  e.,  as  denoting  a  place  of  punishment,  as 
the  place  in  which  those  are  confined  who  are  charged 
with  felony  or  crime.  God  does  not  lock  up  as  crimi- 
nals the  spirits  of  His  own  people  who  trust  and  obey 
Him  when  they  pass  out  of  this  life  into  that  beyond. 
We  conclude,  therefore,  that  "the  spirits  in  prison" 
were  not  and  could  not  be  saints  of  former  dispensa- 
tions. 

(2)  The  passage  holds  out  no  hope  for  a  "second 
probation,"  that  is,  that  after  death  there  may  be  op- 
portunity to  be  saved.  There  is  not  a  hint  in  it  that 
any  of  "the  spirits"  preached  to  were  set  free  from 
prison,  even  allowing  that  the  proclamation  was  made 
to  them  by  the  Lord  in  the  interval  between  His 
death  and  resurrection.  Some  interpreters  are  sure 
that  "the  spirits"  were  still  in  prison  when  Peter 
wrote.  It  has  even  been  proposed  to  insert  the  word 
now  in  the  text  and  to  read  thus :  "Unto  the  spirits 
now  in  prison."  If  this  opinion  be  accepted,  and  there 
is  much  to  commend  it,  then  thirty  years  and  more 
after  Christ's  death  and  resurrection  these  unhappy 
disbelievers  were  still  confined  in  prison  waiting  the 
awful  judgment  which  would  pronounce  their  final 


58  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

doom.  They  did  not  repent  at  the  preaching  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  even  supposing  that  He  did  preach  to 
them  after  His  own  death ;  they  remained  and  still  re- 
main disobedient,  incorrigible.  This  tremendous  fact 
closes  every  door  of  hope  for  those  who  live  and  die 
in  sin  and  impenitence.  For,  if  the  sinners  of  Noah's 
day  rejected  God's  mercy  and  went  into  prison  in 
Hades  in  consequence,  and  if  after  all  the  centuries 
ensuing  down  to  the  time  of  Christ's  death  and  His 
alleged  preaching  to  them  in  the  prison  did  not  lead 
to  repentance  and  the  release  of  so  much  as  one  of 
them,  what  possible  ground  of  hope  can  there  be  for 
any  others? 

Besides,  Scripture  represents  men's  state,  whether 
saved  or  lost,  as  irreversible  after  their  death.  If  the 
narrative  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus  of  Luke  xvi 
teaches  anything  it  teaches  this.  There  are  the  two 
states  clearly  defined — Abraham's  bosom  and  torment. 
Between  the  two  the  "great  gulf"  lies  which  for  both 
sides  is  forever  impassable.  The  destiny  of  both  Laza- 
rus and  Dives  is  unalterably  fixed.  From  our  passage 
a  second  offer  of  salvation  to  the  lost  in  Hades  cannot 
be  legitimately  inferred. 

But  I  Peter  iv :  6  is  urged  as  evidence  on  the  other 
side,  for  it  is  believed  by  some  that  Peter  here  teaches 
the  Gospel  was  preached  to  those  already  dead  and  it 
was  received  by  them:  "For  unto  this  end  was  the 
gospel  preached  even  to  the  dead,  that  they  might  be 
judged  indeed  according  to  men  in  the  flesh,  but  live 
according  to  God  in  the  spirit"  (R.  V.).  What  dead? 
Not  to  the  spiritually  dead  who  were  still  in  the  flesh 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


59 


when  the  Apostle  write,  for  ver.  5  forbids  this  inter- 
pretation; nor  yet  to  those  who  dwell  in  the  unseen 
world,  disembodied  spirits,  but  those  who  heard  and 
believed  the  Gospel  when  they  were  living  but  were 
dead  when  Peter  wrote — these  are  to  be  judged  at 
last  in  the  same  way  as  those  living  now.  Peter  evi- 
dently has  in  mind  Christians  who  had  suffered  for  the 
Name,  perhaps  had  been  even  put  to  death  because 
of  their  faith,  judged  by  men  as  wicked,  but  who  will 
be  fully  vindicated  at  Christ's  bar.  We  return  now  to 
the  main  theme  of  the  passage. 

(3)  Did  Christ  personally  proclaim  the  Gospel  to 
the  "spirits  in  prison"  in  the  interval  between  His 
death  and  resurrection?  Unhesitatingly  we  reply  no. 
The  phrase,  "put  to  death  in  the  flesh,"  is  co-ordinate 
with  the  parallel  phrase,  "quickened  by  the  spirit," 
"made  alive  in  the  spirit"  (Ver.  18,  R.  V.).  "Flesh" 
and  "spirit"  are  antithetical,  are  in  sharp  contrast  with 
each  other.  It  is  insisted  by  those  who  advocate  the 
affirmative  of  the  question  above  that  "flesh"  signifies 
Christ's  body,  and  that  "spirit"  must  mean  His  human 
spirit.  The  preposition  in  must  be  inserted  before 
each  term — "in  flesh,"  "in  spirit."  It  is  hence  inferred 
that  the  Lord  in  His  human  spirit  which  was  made 
alive  to  a  higher  and  more  active  state  of  existence 
after  His  death  personally  went  and  preached  to  the 
spirits  in  prison  in  Hades ;  therefore  the  preaching  was 
in  the  interval  between  His  death  and  His  resurrection. 
Such  is  the  argument  urged  in  support  of  the  theory 
that  the  Lord  preached  to  the  dead. 

We  cannot  accept  this  exegesis;  we  do  not  believe 


6o  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

that  on  just  principles  of  interpretation  the  passage 
teaches  this.  To  begin  with,  the  phrase  "put  to  death 
in  the  flesh,"  is  uncommon ;  it  is  a  departure  from  the 
ordinary  way  of  speaking  of  death.  As  Barnes  says, 
**How  singular  it  would  be  to  say  of  Isaiah  or  of  Paul 
or  of  Peter  that  they  were  put  to  death  in  the  flesh !" 
The  phrase  seems  to  indicate  that  there  was  something 
extraordinary  in  His  death,  that  it  was  His  humanity 
that  died,  but  that  there  was  in  Him  a  nature  that  did 
not  die,  nor  could — His  divine  nature.  His  eternal 
Spirit  as  the  Son  of  God.  We  must  not  limit  the  con- 
trast to  "flesh"  and  "spirit ;"  both  clauses  must  be  em- 
braced in  it,  "put  to  death  in  the  flesh,"  and  "made 
alive  in  the  Spirit."  The  Lord's  human  soul  was 
sundered  from  His  body  by  death  just  as  these  are 
sundered  in  all  men  when  death  overtakes  them.  But 
He  did  not  remain  under  the  power  of  death;  it  was 
"not  possible  that  he  should  be  holden  of  it"  (Acts 
ii :  24) .  Accordingly,  Peter  adds,  "but  was  quickened 
in  (by)  the  spirit"  (Spirit). 

The  word  quickened  occurs  in  ten  other  places  be- 
sides this,  and  there  is  no  mistaking  its  meaning.  In 
seven,  viz. :  John  v :  21  (twice)  ;  Rom.  iv :  17 ;  viii :  1 1 ; 
I  Cor.  XV :  22,  36,  45,  it  refers  to  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  In  three,  viz. :  John  vi :  63  ;  2  Cor.  iii :  6 ; 
Gal.  iii:  21,  it  denotes  the  giving  of  spiritual  life.  In 
each  case  it  signifies  to  give  life  where  before  it  had 
ceased  to  be,  or  where  it  had  never  been.  The  same 
word  is  found  in  two  other  places,  but  with  an  aflix, 
Eph.  ii:  5;  Col.  ii:  13.  But  in  these  as  everywhere 
else  it  denotes  the  impartation  of  life  where  it  was  not 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  6l 

found  before.  Graham  (in  Epheslans  ii:  5)  expresses 
its  precise  meaning :  "This  quickening  is  the  spiritual 
resurrection  of  the  soul  from  a  state  of  sin  and  death 
as  the  prelude  and  pledge  of  the  literal  resurrection  at 
the  coming  of  Christ."  Prof.  Cremer  defines  it  as  the 
action  by  which  the  dead  are  raised  to  life  whether  as 
to  the  body  or  the  soul,  and  he  cites  i  Peter  iii:  18  as 
proof. 

Those  who  hold  that  it  was  Christ's  human  soul  that 
was  quickened  must  impose  upon  the  word  quickened 
a  meaning  which  the  New  Testament  forbids.  So  we 
are  told  that  it  means  a  more  active  life,  a  fuller  life, 
an  increase  of  life,  a  life  fitting  Him  to  preach  to 
Hades  sinners !  But  everywhere  else  it  means  giving 
life,  bringing  to  life.  This  could  not  be  said  of  His 
human  spirit,  for  assuredly  it  did  not  die.  What  then 
was  it  which  was  made  alive  ?  Exactly  that  which  had 
been  put  to  death,  His  **flesh,"  His  humanity.  Quick- 
ened signifies  resurrection.  The  very  body  which  lay 
in  Joseph's  tomb  was  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day 
made  alive  by  the  mighty  power  of  God.  This  inter- 
pretation balances  exactly  the  antithetical  clause, 
"put  to  death  in  the  flesh."  What  had  been  put  to 
death  is  made  alive  in  resurrection. 

Is  it  quite  certain  that  "spirit"  means  Christ's  human 
spirit?  The  Revisions,  both  English  and  American, 
print  it  with  a  small  s  instead  of  the  capital  S  of  King 
James,  thus  taking  it  to  denote  His  human  spirit.  But 
if  this  be  so,  "quickened"  must  be  given  a  meaning  it 
does  not  bear  wherever  else  it  occurs.  "Spirit" 
stands  in  sharp  contrast  with  "flesh;"  it  is  that  which 


62  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

did  not  die.  Obviously,  if  it  be  taken  as  denoting  the 
Agent  by  whom  He  was  quickened,  then  it  certainly 
denotes  Christ's  divine  nature,  His  Godhead.  Rom- 
ans i:  3,  4  presents  a  similar  contrast  between  His 
natures,  human  and  divine.  He  was  of  the  seed  of 
David  according  to  the  flesh.  He  was  declared  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  with  power  according  to  the  Spirit  of 
holiness  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  Here  also 
there  is  a  sharp  contrast,  the  seed  of  David  stands  in 
contrast  with  the  Son  of  God.  Of  course.  His  human 
spirit  was  holy,  but  it  was  an  essential  part  of  His  hu- 
manity, and  hence  the  expression,  "Spirit  of  holiness" 
cannot  mean  His  human  spirit.  It  must  be  His  divine 
nature  that  is  meant.  According  to  that  nature  He 
was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  by  the  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead.  So  in  i  Peter  iii:  i8  His  being 
quickened  into  resurrection  life  is  by  the  same  divine 
nature,  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God.  By  His  own  in- 
finite power,  His  Deity,  He  is  raised  from  the  dead 
(John  ii:  19). 

It  was  in  this  Spirit,  or  by  this  Spirit,  He  went  and 
preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison.  It  is  contended  that 
"went"  implies  a  personal  going  by  Him  to  the  realm 
of  the  dead.  Not  necessarily.  In  Eph.  ii:  17  we  read, 
"And  (Christ)  came  and  preached  peace  to  you  which 
were  afar  off."  The  preaching  was  in  this  instance 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  and  yet  it  was  not  done  by 
Him  in  person,  but  by  His  Spirit  in  His  servants, 
Paul  and  companions. 

We  understand,  therefore,  the  preaching  to  the 
spirits  in  prison  to  have  been  done  by  the  Spirit  of 


FIRST   EPISTLE   OF    PETER. 


63 


Christ  through  Noah,  "the  preacher  of  righteousness," 
as  Peter  calls  him  elsewhere  (2  Peter  ii:  5),  to  the 
antediluvians.  But  they  refused  the  message,  they 
gave  no  heed  to  the  solemn  warning,  they  hardened 
their  hearts  by  their  disobedience,  and  hence  became 
prisoners  in  Plades.  Gen.  vi:  3  reads,  "And  Jehovah 
said.  My  Spirit  shall  not  strive  with  man  forever,  for 
that  he  also  is  flesh:  yet  his  days  shall  be  a  hundred 
and  twenty  years."  That  is  to  say,  His  Spirit  should 
strive,  in  the  testimony  of  Noah,  during  a  hundred  and 
twenty  years  and  no  longer.  Now  it  would  be  an  ex- 
traordinary thing  that  with  those  persons  only  (for 
Peter  speaks  only  of  them)  the  Lord  should  strive  in 
testimony  after  their  death.  Is  that  at  all  likely?  Is 
there  so  much  as  a  hint  in  all  the  rest  of  Scripture 
that  He  offers  salvation  after  their  death  to  those  who 
in  their  lifetime  heard  the  message  and  rejected  it? 
There  is  absolutely  none. 

It  is  not  a  description  of  all  that  died  in  unbelief,  but 
of  a  generation  favored  with  a  special  testimony  and 
threatened  with  a  particular  stroke  of  judgment.  They 
were  those  who  despised  the  testimony  of  Christ 
through  Noah.  Just  as  His  Spirit  prophesied  in  the 
prophets,  so  the  Spirit  of  Christ  preached  by  Noah. 
Nor  was  the  preaching  to  spirits  when  they  were  in 
prison,  but  to  the  disobedient  before  they  became  pris- 
oners in  Hades.  Multitudes  of  the  ungodly  perished 
before  the  Flood ;  for  ages  after  it  greater  multitudes 
died  in  their  sins.  Many  of  these,  perhaps  the  ma- 
jority of  them,  never  had  an  offer  of  salvation  made 
to  them.     Why  should  these  countless  multitudes  be 


64  FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   PETER. 

ignored  by  the  Saviour,  and  those  alone  of  Noah's  day 
have  a  second  offer  of  mercy?  For  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  they  had  the  testimony  of  Noah  by  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  warning,  rebuking  and  entreating 
them,  but  all  in  vain.  They  kept  right  on  in  their  re- 
bellion and  apostasy  till  the  tremendous  judgment  so 
long  impending  broke  down  upon  them  in  all  its  deso- 
lating fury.  Now,  should  these  imprisoned  spirits 
have  a  second  offer  of  pardon  and  of  life  in  the  unseen 
world,  while  all  others  there,  who  never  had  a  chance 
at  all,  be  passed  by  in  merciless  neglect  and  pitiless 
silence?  Would  such  partiality  be  fair  or  equitable? 
Does  God  who  is  righteous  and  holy  thus  do? 

On  the  contrary,  there  is  proof  that  those  who  in 
this  life  refuse  His  message  in  unbelief  are  at  length 
abandoned  and  left  to  their  fate  even  in  the  present 
world.  When  the  shadow  of  the  Cross  was  already 
falling  on  the  Lord's  pathway,  and  when  it  was  de- 
termined by  the  rulers  and  the  people  that  He  must 
die,  Jesus  uttered  His  lament  over  the  guilty  city — a 
mournful  dirge  it  is  and  a  sentence  of  woe  indescriba- 
ble— **If  thou  hadst  known  in  this  thy  day  the  things 
which  belong  to  thy  peace !  but  now  they  are  hid  from 
thine  eyes"  (Luke  xix:  41-44)  ;  "Behold,  your  house 
is  left  unto  you  desolate"  (Matt,  xxiii:  37-39).  Ere 
long  the  awful  verdict  was  executed ;  the  city  was  de- 
stroyed, the  temple  burned,  and  Israel  went  into  an 
exile  which  endures  to  this  day,  and  will  till  the  Lord 
shall  come  again.  When  scornful  rejection  of  mercy 
is  complete,  when  disobedience  has  culminated  in  re- 
bellion and  apostasy,  and  the  sentence  of  doom  has 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  55 

been  pronounced,  judgment,  appalling  and  overwhelm- 
ing, falls  and  probation  ends.  If  this  takes  place  even 
in  this  life,  how  much  more  certainly  does  it  in  the 
world  beyond  where  destiny  is  forever  fixed? 

Did  Christ's  human  spirit  at  His  death  go  into 
Hades,  into  the  region  of  the  lost?  Did  He  "descend 
into  hell?"  Believed  by  many,  doubted  by  some,  de- 
nied by  others.  Christ's  seventh  and  last  saying  on 
the  Cross  was  His  calm  and  trustful  prayer,  "Father, 
into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit"  (Luke  xxiii :  46). 
Was  not  that  prayer  heard  and  answered?  Who 
would  be  so  bold  as  to  deny  that  it  was?  If,  then.  His 
human  spirit  at  His  death  went  to  the  Father,  it  did 
not  go  to  the  realm  of  the  spirits  in  prison.  The 
Father  most  certainly  was  not  in  that  region.  More- 
over, to  the  penitent  thief  at  His  side  he  promised, 
"Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me 
in  Paradise."  Where  was  Paradise?  In  2  Cor.  xii: 
2-4  Paul  identifies  Paradise  with  the  "third  heaven," 
with  the  highest  heaven,  with  God's  own  habitation. 
The  promise  to  the  overcomer  in  Ephesus  (Rev.  ii:  7) 
is,  "to  him  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life  which 
is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God"  (cf.  Rev.  xxii :  I, 
2).  Prof.  Swete  is  exactly  right.  Paradise  is  the  "final 
joy  of  the  saints  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  Christ" 
(Com.  in  loc).  Taking  His  prayer  and  promise  to- 
gether the  inference  is  indisputable  that  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  most  solemn  hour  of  all  time,  in  the  awful  hour 
of  His  death  on  the  cross,  confidently  and  assuredly 
expected  to  go  into  the  Father's  presence,  into  Para^ 
dise,  God's  heavenly  abode.  Is  anyone  so  presump- 
5 


6G  FIRST   EPISTLE    OF   PETER. 

tuous  as  to  affirm  that  He  was  disappointed?  If 
heaven  was  the  place  of  His  sojourn  in  the  interval 
between  His  death  and  resurrection,  then  it  is  mani- 
fest He  did  not  go  to  the  place  in  Hades  where  wicked 
spirits  are  confined.  Therefore  He  did  not  at  that 
time  preach  to  the  spirits  in  prison,  for  He  was  not 
there. 

It  may  be  asked,  however,  did  He  not  go  to  Hades 
according  to  Psalm  xvi :  lo,  and  Peter's  exposition  of 
it  in  Acts  ii :  25-32  ?  Yes,  but  not  necessarily  to  the 
abode  of  the  lost.  Sheol  and  Hades  alike  designate 
the  unseen  world,  the  world  of  departed  spirits,  not 
necessarily  a  place  of  torment  and  of  misery  unless 
expressly  mentioned.  Hades  denotes  the  intermediate 
state,  the  abode  of  the  disembodied  human  spirit  till 
the  resurrection  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Jesus  Himself  went  thither  at  His  death,  and 
both  the  Psalm  and  Peter's  explanation  announce  the 
glorious  truth  that  our  Lord's  spirit  should  not  tarry 
in  the  unseen  world,  nor  should  His  body  see  corrup- 
tion in  the  grave,  for  His  resurrection  should  speedily 
follow  His  death  and  burial. 

For  us  the  passage  in  First  Peter  iii :  18-20,  with  all 
its  difficulties  of  interpretation,  teaches  the  following 
truths : 

1.  Jesus  Christ  was  put  to  death  as  a  substitute  for 
sinners,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  they  might  be 
brought  unto  God. 

2.  He  was  made  alive  again  by  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  and  He  now  lives  in  the  power  of  an  endless 
life. 


FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  67 

3.  His  resurrection  was  efTected  by  the  almighty 
power  of  God. 

4.  By  the  same  power,  His  own  eternal  Spirit,  He 
went  by  His  servant  Noah  to  the  Antediluvians  and 
proclaimed  to  them  His  truth — truth  that  invited, 
warned  and  threatened  them  with  overwhelming 
judgment. 

5.  Noah's  contemporaries  refused  the  message,  re- 
jected the  messenger  and  persisted  in  their  disobedi- 
ence and  unbelief. 

6.  The  flood  "destroyed  them  all,"  and  their  spirits 
are  now  confined  in  the  prison  of  the  lost  where  they 
await  the  final  judgment  (2  Peter  ii:  9;  Jude  6). 

7.  The  passage  holds  out  no  hope  for  the  impeni- 
tent, it  forbids  the  notion  that  those  who  during  the 
earthly  life  refuse  the  Gospel  of  God's  grace  may  have 
a  second  chance  in  the  world  beyond,  and  may  be  ulti- 
mately saved. 

No  preaching  to  the  dead  is  its  lesson. 


SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PETER 

The  Second  Epistle  of  Peter  comes  to  us  with  less 
historical  support  of  its  genuineness  than  any  other 
book  of  the  New  Testament.  Origen  (c.  A.  D.  230) 
is  the  first  writer  who  mentions  it  by  name,  but  he  is 
careful  to  say  that  its  authority  was  questioned. 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  state  the  same  general  fact, 
though  Jerome  included  it  in  his  Vulgate  Version, 
while  Eusebius  speaks  of  First  Peter  as  generally  ac- 
cepted, but  of  the  second  as  quite  doubtful.  It  seems 
certam  that  it  was  not  formally  admitted  into  the 
Canon  of  Scripture  until  near  the  close  of  the  fourth 
century  by  the  Councils  of  Laodicea  (A.  D.  372)  and 
Carthage  (A.  D.  397).  The  historical  attestation  to  its 
canonicity  is  thus  seen  to  be  meagre  indeed.  Accord- 
ingly, many  are  even  now  in  doubt  as  to  its  integrity. 

It  must  be  added  that  there  was  a  strong  tendency 
in  sub-apostolic  times  to  use  Peter's  name  to  give 
credit  to  apocryphal  writings.  There  are  such  writ- 
ings extant,  as  e.  g.,  The  Gospel  of  Peter,  Apocalypse 
of  Peter,  Acts  of  Peter,  etc.  These  and  the  like  spuri- 
ous books  belong  to  the  second  century  of  our  era,  or 
even  later,  and  hence  are  of  no  authority  touching  the 
matters  of  which  they  treat.  They  exhibit,  however, 
the  tendency  of  the  age  in  which  they  were  produced, 
and  the  possibility  that  Second  Peter  might  likewise 

68 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  ^ 

be  spurious.  But  would  they  have  come  into  exist- 
ence had  Peter  never  written  anything?  The  fact  of 
abundant  forgery  is  at  once  an  evidence  that  some  gen- 
uine writings  of  the  Apostle  existed  and  were  re- 
ceived generally  as  his. 

The  internal  evidence  in  the  support  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  Second  Peter  is  clear  and  strong.  It  opens 
with  the  positive  statement  of  Peter's  authorship — 
**Simon  Peter,  a  servant  and  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ" — • 
The  insertion  of  Simon,  the  old  Hebrew  name,  in  the 
forefront  of  the  document  is  significant.  If  a  forger 
had  been  writing  in  Peter's  name  at  the  opening  of  his 
false  letter  he  almost  certainly  would  have  followed 
the  First  Epistle  and  simply  written,  **Peter,  an  apostla 
of  Jesus  Christ."  Note  also  that  "servant"  is  intro- 
duced in  the  Second  Epistle,  but  is  absent  from  the 
First.  He  calls  himself  a  servant  and  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ.  "Although  several  pseudonymous  writ- 
ings appear  in  early  Christian  literature,  there  is  no 
Christian  document  of  value  written  by  a  forger  who 
uses  the  name  of  an  Apostle"  (Dods).  If  this  im- 
portant statement  is  accepted  at  its  full  worth,  it  goes 
far  to  settle  the  question  of  authorship,  for  the  writer 
inserts  the  name  Apostle  at  the  opening  of  his  epistle — 
"an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Moreover,  the  writer  is  distinctively  a  Christian ;  he 
addresses  those  who  "have  obtained  a  like  precious 
faith  with  us  in  the  righteousness  of  our  God"  (i:  i). 
His  is  the  same  precious  faith  which  all  the  saints 
enjoy;  his  also  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises of  God,  and  he  expects  with  all  other  believers  to 


70       SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PETER. 

be  made  a  partaker  of  the  divine  nature  (i:  3,  4).  Is 
it  at  all  probable  or  likely  that  one  with  such  a  faith 
and  such  expectations  would  deliberately  falsify  the 
name  of  Simon  Peter  and  turn  liar?  The  writer  is 
unsparing  in  his  denunciations  of  false  teachers,  cor- 
ruptors  of  others,  rebels  against  God,  hypocrites  and 
apostates  (ii).  He  instances  the  fall  of  the  angels, 
the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  the  rebuke 
of  Balaam,  as  examples  of  the  doom  of  those  who 
know  the  truth  and  yet  live  in  shameful  sin  and 
crime.  Would  a  Christian  and  servant  of  Jesus  Christ 
be  at  all  likely  to  commit  in  the  most  flagrant  manner 
the  things  he  so  vehemently  condemns?  If  the  writer 
was  not  the  Apostle  Peter,  he  was  a  false  teacher,  a 
corruptor  of  others,  and  a  hypocrite,  which  to  us 
seems  incredible. 

He  associates  himself  with  the  other  Apostles,  is  in 
full  sympathy  with  Paul,  is  acquainted  with  Paul's 
epistles,  and  he  holds  and  teaches  the  same  funda- 
mental truth.  An  apostolic  spirit  breathes  through 
this  document  such  as  is  not  found  in  a  spurious  writ- 
ing, and  such  as  a  forger  never  exhibits.  He  is  anx- 
iously concerned  for  the  purity  of  the  faith,  and  for 
the  steadfastness  and  holiness  of  the  saints.  He 
exhorts  them  to  give  "diligence  that  ye  may  be  found 
in  peace,  without  spot  and  blameless  in  his  sight,"  and 
that  they  "grow  in  the  grace  and  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  All  this  and  very 
much  more  of  like  devout  teaching  is  apostolic  in  tone 
and  betokens  genuineness  and  reality. 

Furthermore,  the  writer  appeals  to  certain  facts  in 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER  713 

the  life  of  Peter  which  make  his  epistle  almost  auto- 
biographical.   For  example,  he  speaks  of  "putting  off 

*  of  my  tabernacle  even  as  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
showed  me"  (i:  13,  14).  The  reference  undoubtedly 
is  to  John  xiii:  36;  xxi;  18,  19.  In  the  latter  passage 
Jesus  distinctly  announced  to  Peter  that  his  death  was 
to  be  one  of  violence,  even  crucifixion,  and  that  it 
would  occur  when  the  Apostle  was  an  old  man.     He 

-  claims  to  have  been  a  witness  of  the  Transfiguration 
(i:  16-18).  We  know  from  the  record  of  the  Gospels 
that  Peter  was  one  of  the  three  who  were  present 
when  the  Lord's  person  glowed  with  an  unearthly 
brightness.  He  indirectly  claims  the  inspiration  with- 
out which  true  prophecy  is  impossible  (i:  19-21).  He 
asserts  that  this  is  his  "second  epistle"  (iii:  i).  This 
testimony  on  the  part  of  the  writer  is  personal,  em- 
phatic and  direct.  It  reads  exactly  like  Peter's  man- 
ner of  speaking  of  himself  at  the  Council  of  Jeru- 
salem, "Ye  know  that  a  good  while  ago  God  made 
choice  among  you,  that  by  my  mouth  the  Gentiles 
should  hear  the  word  of  the  Gospel  and  believe." 

Jude  appears  to  quote  from  Second  Peter.  The 
question  as  to  the  priority  of  these  two  epistles,  viz. : 
Second  Peter  and  Jude,  is  by  no  means  settled. 
Writers  are  pretty  evenly  divided.  Chase,  Peake  and 
Plumtre  hold  that  Jude  is  the  older,  while  Zahn, 
Lumby,  and  apparently  Dods  regard  Second  Peter  as 
the  older.  In  favor  of  the  latter  view,  which  the  present 
writer  accepts,  it  may  be  argued:  i.  That  Jude,  who 
seems  to  quote  from  the  Book  of  Enoch  and  to  refer 
indirectly  at  least  to  the  apocryphal  Assumption  of 


^2  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER 

Moses,  would  more  probably  quote  from  Peter  than 
Peter  from  Jude.  Indeed  there  is  no  evidence  that  Peter 
cites  from  any  writer.  2.  Peter's  description  of  the 
false  teachers  and  corruptors  of  truth  points  mainly 
to  the  future.  His  prominent  verbs  are  in  the  future 
tense,  e.  g.,  ii:  I,  2,  3,  12,  etc.  Certainly  he  uses  the 
present  tense  in  his  description  of  the  evil  character 
and  conduct  of  these  hypocrites  and  apostates,  but 
their  presence  among  the  saints  he  puts  in  the  future. 
The  deadly  germs  were  already  there,  the  rank  growth 
would  speedily  follow.  Jude,  on  the  contrary, 
throughout  his  epistle  speaks  of  them  as  already  come ; 
his  objects  are  present,  they  are  in  the  midst  of  the 
children  of  God,  these  "filthy  dreamers,"  these  "mur- 
murers."  It  seems  to  us  certain  that  while  Paul  in 
his  address  to  the  Ephesian  Elders  (Acts  xx:  28-30), 
and  in  his  epistle  to  Timothy  (2  Tim.  iii :  1-9),  and 
Peter  in  his  second  letter,  alike  predict  the  coming  of 
the  antinomians  and  the  heretics,  Jude  describes  them 
as  actually  here,  prosecuting  their  wicked  work  with 
shameless  effrontery.  He  writes,  "But,  beloved,  re- 
member ye  the  words  which  have  been  spoken  before 
by  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  that  they 
said  unto  you.  In  the  last  time  there  shall  be  mockers, 
walking  after  their  own  ungodly  lusts"  (vers.  17,  18). 
One  of  the  Apostles  here  mentioned  seems  certainly 
to  have  been  Peter,  Paul  perhaps  was  another.  Peter 
writes  as  follows:  "That  ye  should  remember  the 
words  which  were  spoken  before  by  the  holy  prophets, 
and  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
through  your  apostles :  knowing  this  first,  that  in  the 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 


73 


last  days  mockers  shall  come  with  mockery,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is  the  prom- 
ise of  his  coming?"  (2  Peter  iii:  2-4).  The  close  re- 
semblance of  these  passages  to  each  other  extends  to 
the  words  and  phrases.  Both  urge  their  readers  to 
'"remember,"  both  date  the  fulfilment  of  the  prediction 
at  the  "last  time,"  both  use  the  term  "mockers,"  and 
both  say  that  the  prediction  came  through  "the  apos- 
tles." But,  note,  that  Peter  affirms  that  the  fulfilment 
was  still  future  when  he  wrote,  but  Jude  declares  that 
it  is  already  fulfilled  in  his  day,  for  he  goes  on  to  say, 
''These  are  they  who  make  separations,  sensual,  hav- 
ing not  the  Spirit"  (v.  19).  It  appears  to  us  that  be- 
yond question  Jude  quotes  from  both  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  that  he  has  specially  in  mind  the  words  of  Peter. 
Therefore  Second  Peter  is  older  than  Jude,  and  hence 
beyond  doubt  canonical,  if  Jude  is. 

The  keyword  of  First  Peter  is  Hope;  of  Second 
Peter  Knowledge. 

I.  It  has  often  been  observed  that  the  Apostle  uses 
the  term  knowledge  with  much  frequency,  and  in  such 
connections  and  with  such  fulness  of  significance  as  to 
disclose  the  great  importance  he  attaches  to  it  (i:  2, 
3,  5,  6,  8;  ii:  20,  21;  iii:  18).  The  word  he  uses  is 
generally  in  the  intensified  form,  viz. :  full  knowledge. 
Christians  should  know  the  truth  and  the  whole  truth ; 
they  should  be  able  to  detect  error,  and  recognize  the 
times  in  which  they  live;  they  should  know  the  dan- 
gerous world  that  surrounds  them  and  that  ever  seeks 
to  poison  their  minds,  debase  their  affections,  neutral- 
ize their  testimony,  and  paralize  their  faith.     Hence 


74  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

Peter's  final  appeal  is,  "Grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ" 
(iii:  i8). 

2.  The  basis  of  true  knowledge  (i:  1-4).  It  springs 
from  a  living  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  in 
the  "exceeding  great  and  precious  promises"  which 
Divine  Power  has  given  us.  This  knowledge  leads  us 
into  acquaintance  with  the  righteousness  of  God,  with 
our  calling  as  believers,  and  with  the  glorious  destiny 
that  awaits  them  who  know  and  trust  God. 

3.  Growth  in  knowledge  (i:  5-1 1).  "And  besides 
iill  this,  giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith,"  etc. 
The  term  "add"  scarcely  expresses  the  apostle's 
thought.  It  is  a  somewhat  peculiar  word  originally 
used  of  one  who  supplied  all  the  equipments  and  fur- 
nishings needed  by  the  Greek  Chorus.  The  idea  of 
supply  should  certainly  be  retained:  "In  your  faith 
supply  virtue."  He  does  not  ask  that  faith  be  sup- 
plied; that  these  believers  already  had.  But  starting 
with  faith  as  the  foundation  of  all,  let  the  other  ex- 
cellencies and  virtues  be  richly  and  abundantly  fur- 
nished. Let  there  be  no  lack  of  equipment  here,  for 
far  more  is  it  needed  than  was  furnishing  by  the 
Chorus  of  the  old  Greek  tragedy.  What  a  magnifi- 
cent cluster  the  apostle  here  gives!  Each  springs  out 
of  the  other;  each  is  strengthened  by  the  other.  "In 
your  faith  supply  virtue,"  or  fortitude,  manliness ;  and 
let  virtue  supply  "knowledge."  Knowledge  by  itself 
alone  tends  to  "puff  up."  But  tempered  by  the 
others,  by  self-control,  by  patience,  by  godliness,  by 
love,  knowledge  becomes  one  of  the  most  essential  and 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  75 

powerful  excellencies  in  the  Christian  character.  Paul 
begins  his  list  of  the  "fruits  of  the  Spirit"  with  love 
(Gal.  v:  22).  Peter  ends  his  with  love.  It  is  like  a 
chain,  each  link  holds  fast  to  its  fellow,  and  is  a  part 
of  the  whole.  It  matters  little  at  which  end  of  the 
chain  we  begin  the  count,  for  the  links  form  a  unity, 
and  to  touch  one  is  to  touch  all.  Each  is  strong  by 
the  strength  derived  from  the  other.  The  apostle 
urges  diligence  to  furnish  all  these;  "adding  on  your 
part  all  diligence."  God  freely  gives  what  we  need 
and  all  we  need;  let  it  be  ours  by  conscious  effort  to 
add  to  the  supply. 

The  motive  to  such  diligence  lies  in  this,  (a)  that 
no  barrenness  nor  unfruitfulness  in  the  full  knowl- 
edge of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  blight  our  lives; 
(b)  and  that  thereby  may  be  richly  supplied  to  us  the 
entrance  into  the  eternal  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

4.  The  inerrancy  of  the  sources  of  saving  knowl- 
edge (i:  16-21). 

The  apostle  rests  his  truth  on  two  trustworthy  facts : 
(a)  the  fact  and  meaning  of  the  Saviour's  Transfigu- 
ration; (b)  the  fact  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Taken  together  these  two  great  facts  invest 
his  teaching  with  infallible  certainty  and  authority. 

I.  "For  we  have  not  followed  cunningly  devised 
fables,  when  we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eyewit- 
nesses of  his  majesty."  Pagan  mythology,  so  widely 
prevailing  at  the  time  in  Asia  Minor,  was  composed 
largely  of  myths  (Peter's  word)  which  were  skilfully 


^6  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

framed  and  poetically  embellished.  The  cabalism  of 
the  Jews,  heathen  myths,  and  the  wild  vagaries  that 
were  springing  up  in  the  bosom  of  the  Christian 
Church  itself,  had  no  place  whatever  in  the  message 
of  the  Gospel  nor  in  the  apostolic  teaching  and  preach- 
ing. What  Peter  and  his  fellow-apostles  taught  was 
the  very  truth  of  God,  and  this,  without  admixture  of 
human  wisdom  or  speculation,  had  been  made  known 
to  the  "elect  sojourners"  for  their  instruction  and 
comfort.  The  teaching  was  with  absolute  fidelity  and 
certainty.  For  Peter  and  James  and  John  were  eye- 
witnesses of  the  majestic  scene  on  the  mouth  of  Trans- 
figuration. They  saw  with  their  own  eyes  the  super- 
human brightness  and  splendor  with  which  the  Lord's 
person  glowed,  they  saw  the  two  heavenly  visitants 
who  appeared  in  glory  and  who  conversed  with  Jesus, 
they  heard  the  voice  of  God  out  of  the  cloud,  and  they 
beheld  that  cloud  which  is  always  the  symbol  of  the 
Divine  Presence.  If  any  men  ever  were  competent 
and  credible  in  their  testimony  surely  these  were  the 
men.  This  knowledge  they  had  given  out  to  their 
fellow-believers. 

Peter  intimates  that  the  Transfiguration  was  at  once 
the  pledge  and  a  specimen  of  the  Lord's  Advent  and 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  Synoptic  Gospels 
which  record  it  (Matt,  xvii:  i-8;  Mark  ix:  2-8;  Luke 
ix:  28-36),  leave  little  room  for  doubt  that  the  Lord 
so  intended  it.  He  said,  "There  be  some  standing 
here  who  shall  not  taste  of  death  till  they  see,"  etc. 
Lillie  and  others  hold  that  this  promise  had  its  fulfil- 
ment in  the  spectacle  of  the   Transfiguration.     The 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  77 

view  is  supported  by  the  variously  expressed  objects 
they  were  to  see  before  they  died.  In  Matthew  it  is, 
*'till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  His  king- 
dom." In  Mark,  "till  they  see  the  Kingdom  of  God 
come  with  power."  In  Luke,  "till  they  see  the  King- 
dom of  God."  Two  chief  things  they  should  see — 
the  coming  of  Christ  and  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom. 
Peter  appears  to  have  both  in  view  when  he  mentions 
the  "power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
Mark's  words,  "Kingdom  come  with  power,"  answers 
to  Peter's  "power."  And  Matthew's  "Son  of  Man 
coming"  answers  to  Peter's  "coming."  It  seems  cer- 
tain that  in  some  deep  sense  the  apostle  saw  in  the 
Transfiguration  a  pledge  and  sample  of  the  future  ad- 
vent of  Christ  and  the  establishment  of  God's  King- 
dom in  power  and  glory  over  the  whole  earth. 

The  scene  itself  witnesses  to  the  same  general  fact, 
(i)  The  Lord's  person  suddenly  shone  with  a  majesty 
and  glory  such  as  commonly  was  hid  from  mortal 
gaze.  "His  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  His  rai- 
ment was  white  as  the  light."  In  heaven  He  is  encir- 
cled with  the  transcendant  glories  of  the  throne  of 
God.  But  when  He  shall  come  again  to  our  world  it 
will  be  in  His  own  glory,  such  as  was  displayed  in  its 
dazzling  beauty  before  the  overwhelmed  gaze  of  His 
disciples.  (2)  Two  men  from  the  unseen  world  ap- 
peared also  in  glory,  Moses  and  Elijah.  They  repre- 
sented the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  They  represented 
much  more.  The  one  had  died,  and  he  of  mortals  alone 
had  the  distinguished  honor,  the  matchless  dignity,  of 
being  buried  by  the  Lord  Himself  (Deut.  xxxiv:  5,  6). 


78       SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PETER. 

Moses  stood  for  the  sleeping  saints  who  shall  be  raised 
up  in  glory  when  Christ  comes.  Elijah  for  living  be- 
lievers who  shall  be  "changed"  (i  Cor.  xv:  51,  52), 
and  who  like  Elijah  shall  not  pass  through  death 
(i  Cor.  xvi;  i  Thess.  iv).  (3)  Three  men  were  pres- 
ent, witnesses  of  the  wondrous  scene,  who  in  some 
measure  shared  in  it,  who  were  in  the  flesh  and  who 
stand  for  mankind  living  when  Christ  shall  return  to 
the  world  for  its  redemption.  (4)  There  was  the 
Shekinah  Cloud,  symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence,  and 
the  voice  of  God  speaking  from  the  cloud.  Here  was 
nearness  of  the  Father,  two  glorified  saints  from  the 
unseen  world,  Jesus  shining  with  dazzling  splendor 
and  beauty,  and  three  mortal  men  participants  of  the 
majestic  display. 

Peter  adds,  "And  we  have  the  word  of  prophecy 
made  more  sure"  (i:  19).  This  is  the  rendering  of 
the  Revision,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  its  cor- 
rectness. The  Transfiguration  has  confirmed  what 
the  prophets  had  said  touching  the  future  and  God's 
purposes  to  make  this  earth  once  more  a  Paradise  and 
thus  restore  it  to  the  lost  fellowship  of  heaven.  Every 
word  He  has  spoken  is  to  be  made  good  to  men,  to 
the  globe,  to  the  dead  and  to  the  living  friends  of  God. 
For  Christ  has  suffered,  His  glories  must  follow ;  the 
august  proof  of  it  is  Christ's  Transfiguration,  the 
Cloud  and  Voice  of  God,  the  presence  of  Moses  and 
Elijah,  the  presence  also  of  the  disciples,  and  the  shin- 
ing person  of  the  Lord.  All  this,  the  apostle  affirms, 
confirms  in  a  most  cogent  fashion  the  prophetic  Scrip- 
ture, and  pledges  the  fulfilment  of  every  work  spoken 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  ^^ 

through  the  prophets.  The  historical  fact  of  the 
Transfiguration  is  a  signal  proof  that  Peter  and  his 
fellow-apostles  did  not  follow  "cunningly  devised  fa- 
bles when  they  made  known  to  Christians  the  power 
and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

2.  The  second  fact  is  the  inspiration  of  the  men  of 
God,  i:  20,  21.  "No  prophecy  of  Scripture  is  of  pri- 
vate interpretation.  For  no  prophecy  ever  came  by 
the  will  of  man:  but  men  spake  from  God,  being 
moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  "Knowing  this  first,"  i.  e,, 
we  recognize  this  as  primary  truth,  we  settle  definitely 
in  our  minds  when  we  sit  down  to  the  study  of 
prophecy.  "Private  interpretation,"  i.  e.,  "private"  in 
the  sense  of  "one's  own ;"  "interpretation,"  i,  e.,  origin, 
origination.  Prophecy  never  comes  by  the  exercise  of 
the  prophef s  own  gifts  and  talents,  nor  by  his  shrewd 
guessing,  his  wise  calculation,  his  profound  and  pro- 
longed thought.  No;  it  is  neither  by  man's  unaided 
talent,  nor  by  man's  application,  it  is  wholly  of  God. 
From  Him  it  comes,  by  Him  it  is  revealed.  It  was 
brought  to  the  prophet,  as  it  is  brought  to  us.  It  is  not 
to  be  tied  up  to  the  times  of  the  prophet,  nor  is  it  to 
be  explained  and  unfolded  by  man's  device.  "Holy 
men,"  Peter,  John,  Paul,  and  all  the  others,  "spoke 
from  God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit." 

5.  Peter's  Three  Worlds,  iii:  5-13.  Of  course  three 
globes  are  not  meant,  but  three  vast  epochs,  three  enor- 
mous periods  in  the  history  of  the  earth.  The  apostle 
divides  its  history  into  three  clearly  defined  sections, 
and  treats  each  of  these  with  some  fulness  of  detail; 
at  least  he  mentions  the  characteristic  features  of  each, 
and  to  these  we  are  now  to  attend. 


f 


So  SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PETER. 

(i)  "The  world  that  then  was"  (iii:  6).  This  is 
Peter's  first  world.  It  was  the  antediluvian  world,  the 
world  which  the  Flood  destroyed  (vs.  5,  6;  Gen.  vi, 
vii).  The  commonly  received  chronology  makes  the 
duration  of  that  ancient  world  1656  years.  Its  end 
was  distinguished  by  colossal  wickedness  and  apostasy 
from  God,  and  the  divine  judgment  which  swept  away 
the  entire  race  with  the  exception  of  eight  souls,  Noah 
and  his  family. 

Scoffers  in  Peter^s  time  asked  no  doubt  with  a  sneer, 
''Where  is  the  promise  of  His  coming?  for,  from  the 
day  that  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as 
they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation."  These 
mockers  appeal  to  the  continuity  of  natural  processes, 
to  the  inviolability  of  nature's  laws,  and  they  assert 
that  on  these  grounds  there  never  will  be  an  Advent  of 
Christ  and  judgment  of  the  world,  as  Christians  be- 
lieve and  teach.  Natural  law  goes  on  without  inter- 
ruption and  without  a  break.  Nature  keeps  her  track 
with  unwavering  precision.  There  is  no  sign  of  any 
change;  no  catastrophe  is  likely,  indeed  is  possible. 
The  promise  of  His  coming  fails.  These  skeptics  wil- 
fully forget  that  a  mighty  cataclism  did  once  over- 
whelm the  world.  The  Flood  drowned  every  living 
thing  save  those  within  the  sheltering  Ark.  God  had 
said,  "The  end  of  all  flesh  is  come  before  me;  for  the 
earth  is  filled  with  violence  through  them:  and,  be- 
hold, I  will  destroy  them  with  the  earth"  (Gen.  vi: 
13).  "And  every  living  thing  was  destroyed  that  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  ground,  both  man,  and  cattle,  and 
creeping  things,  and  birds  of  the  heavens"  (Gen.  vii: 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  gl 

2^).  It  was  a  worldwide  disaster  that  happened  to 
that  old  antediluvian  age,  and  its  end  was  frightful 
indeed.  Since,  then,  this  is  a  historical  fact  the  infidel 
question  of  the  mockers  is  foolish  and  false.  The 
world  that  then  was  perished  under  God's  fearful 
judgment,  and  He  has  assured  us  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
shall  come  again  from  heaven  with  His  mighty  angels 
in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  (2  Thess.  i :  7,  8). 

The  Flood  must  have  profoundly  affected  the  con- 
ditions of  life  on  the  earth.  The  physical  changes  in- 
troduced by  it  seem  to  have  been  very  great,  greater 
indeed  than  most  students  of  the  Bible  ascribe  to  it. 
If  the  conclusions  derived  from  personal  examination 
by  Prof.  G.  Frederick  Wright  be  accepted  as  true,  and 
no  geologist  of  the  age  is  more  worthy  of  credence 
than  he,  that  the  Deluge  prevailed  over  a  very  large 
portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  that  a  submergence 
of  the  land  took  place,  then  we  can  readily  perceive 
how  deeply  affected  were  the  conditions  of  life.  The 
world  appears  to  be  different  after  the  disaster ;  it  was 
no  longer  fitted  to  be  the  home  of  men  who  before  it 
lived  for  centuries.  Longevity  almost  immediately  be- 
gan to  change;  life  began  to  shorten,  and  in  a  com- 
paratively brief  time  it  sank  to  the  term  of  years  that 
now  bounds  it.  Noah  lived  950  years  (Gen.  ix:  29). 
Shem,  his  son  born  before  the  Flood,  died  at  the  age 
of  600,  a  reduction  of  350  years  in  a  single  generation. 
With  Noah's  grandson,  Arphaxad,  there  is  further  re- 
duction :  he  died  at  the  age  of  438  years.  In  five  gen- 
6 


82  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

erations  life  was  shortened  to  but  little  more  than  200 
years.  Is  it  not  possible,  is  it  not  probable  that  the 
Deluge  brought  about  such  changes  in  climate,  in  soil, 
and  in  the  atmosphere  as  to  make  the  long  life  of  the 
antediluvian  age  impossible?  At  any  rate,  we  may 
well  conjecture  that  the  conditions  so  favorable  to  a 
prolonged  period  of  existence  in  "the  world  that  then 
was"  passed  away  under  the  awful  judgment  of  God. 
Floods  of  water  are  not  purifiers,  floods  of  fire  are,  as 
we  shall  presently  see. 

(2)  Peter's  second  world  is,  "the  heavens  and  the 
earth  which  are  now"  (iii :  7).  It  is  the  present  order 
of  things  in  sky  and  earth  that  is  meant.  The  world 
that  now  is — it  is  a  singular  sort  of  expression,  and 
seems  to  indicate  that  it  is  neither  permanent  nor  final. 
Hence  the  apostle  goes  on  to  say  that  it  is  "stored  up 
for  fire"  (R.  V.),  or,  better,  as  the  margin  reads, 
"stored  with  fire,"  i.  e.,  it  contains  within  itself  the 
agency  by  which  it  may  yet  be  consumed.  The  world 
that  now  is,  is  held  in  strict  custody,  reserved,  not  for 
a  second  deluge,  but  for  fire.  The  advent  of  Christ 
and  the  judgment  which  shall  ensue  upon  His  coming 
are  constantly  associated  in  Scripture  with  fire,  with 
a  mighty  conflagration.  "Our  God  shall  come  and 
shall  not  keep  silence ;  a  fire  shall  devour  before  him, 
and  it  shall  be  very  tempestuous  round  about  him" 
(Psalms  1:3).  "For,  behold,  the  Lord  will  come  with 
fire,  and  with  his  chariots  like  a  whirlwind,  to  render 
his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  with  flames  of 
fire.  For  by  fire  and  by  his  sword  will  the  Lord  plead 
with  all  flesh"  (Isa.  Ixvi:  15,  16).     Thus  likewise  in 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  83 

the  vision  of  Daniel :  "A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came 
forth  from  before  him.  ...  I  beheld,  even  till  the 
beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to 
the  burning  flame."  Nor  is  the  New  Testament  silent 
on  this  point :  "The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from 
heaven  with  his  mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire" 
(2  Thess.  i:  7-9). 

These  passages  of  Scripture  and  others  of  like  im- 
port indicate  that  fire  will  be  one  of  the  physical  at- 
tendants on  the  Lord's  coming.  But  fire  is  not  the 
only  one.  Voices,  lightnings,  thunders  and  earth- 
quakes will  also  accompany  that  transcendent  event. 
Three  times  does  the  Apocalypse  testify  to  this  fact, 
Rev.  viii :  5  ;  xi :  19 ;  xvi :  18.  These  tremendous  forces 
of  nature  will  be  employed  as  agents  for  the  punish- 
ment of  the  ungodly  and  the  apostates  of  that  Day. 
But  the  judgments  at  the  Advent,  dreadful  as  they 
assuredly  will  be,  appear  to  be  inflicted  mainly  on 
God's  enemies,  the  Dragon,  the  Beast,  the  False 
Prophet,  and  the  vast  multitudes  that  shall  be  deceived 
by  these  extraordinary  foes.  (See  Rev.  xii,  xiii,  xix). 
These  are  chief  objects  of  the  Divine  wrath,  and  they 
appear  at  the  time  of  the  end.  These  passages,  how- 
ever, fall  far  short  of  Peter's  language.  They  say 
nothing  of  the  melting  of  the  elements  with  fervent 
heat,  and  the  burning  of  the  earth  and  its  works,  as 
Peter  does :  "But  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a 
thief;  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with 
a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  be  dissolved  with 
fervent  heat,  and  the  earth  and  the  works  that  are 
therein  shall  be  burned  up"   (2  Peter  iii:   10).     The 


84  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

Day  of  the  Lord  is  not  one  of  four  and  twenty  hours, 
but  a  prolonged  period.  The  apostle  intimates  that  it 
will  cover  a  thousand  years,  i.  e.,  the  whole  time  of  the 
Millennium  (Rev.  xx).  It  is  of  the  close  of  this 
period  that  Peter  speaks,  not  of  its  beginning,  as 
John  mainly  does  in  the  Revelation. 

Ample  materials  are  stored  up  in  the  earth  itself  for 
its  consumption  by  fire.  The  oils  and  the  gases  so 
inflammable  and  destructive  in  their  energy  can,  when 
the  time  arrives,  speedily  reduce  the  order  of  thmgs 
now  existing  to  ashes.  Peter's  language  does  not  sig- 
nify the  annihilation  of  the  earth,  nor  the  dissolution 
of  the  atmosphere,  nor  the  end  of  time.  Fire  does  not 
annihilate,  it  dissolves  existing  combinations  which 
may  be  recombined  under  new  and  different  forms. 
He  speaks  of  the  cosmical  convulsions  and  physical 
revolutions  of  both  earth  and  sky,  such  as  shall  far 
surpass  those  of  the  Flood.  But  at  the  close  of  the 
Day  of  the  Lord,  when  God  shall  have  wrought  His 
whole  work  in  the  earth,  something  new  and  tran- 
scendently  glorious  and  beautiful  shall  supervene. 

(3)  The  third  world  is  this:  *'But,  according  to 
his  promise  we  look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new 
earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness"  (2  Peter  iii: 
13).  It  is  the  new  world  of  righteousness  and  blessed- 
ness forever.  It  is  Paradise  restored.  With  the  over- 
throw of  the  antediluvian  world  there  began  the  new 
history  of  our  race  and  the  new  order  of  things. 
With  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the  present  order  there 
will  follow  the  fulfilment  of  the  majestic  predictions 
and  promises  contained  in  the  last  two  chapters  of  the 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER.  85 

book  of  Revelation.  This  will  be  the  eternal  state,  it 
will  succeed  the  glories  of  the  Millennial  age,  itself  in- 
finitely more  glorious  than  that.  The  Spirit  is  care- 
ful not  to  say  that  in  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth 
righteousness  shall  reign,  for  that  would  mean  the 
millennial  reign;  but  He  says  righteousness  shall 
dzuell  therein ;  it  is  the  permanent,  abiding  state ;  it  is 
eternity. 

In  Rev.  xxi :  1-8  the  New  Testament  seer,  John  the 
Apostle,  reveals  somewhat  of  the  grandeur  and  the 
glory  of  that  sorrowless  state  which  is  foretold.  "And 
I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth:  for  the  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away;  and 
there  was  no  more  sea."  The  fulfilment  of  this  sub- 
lime prediction  will  involve  a  fundamental  change  in 
the  constitution  of  the  world  that  now  is.  Life  would 
be  impossible  if  the  sea  was  no  more.  But  He  who 
made  the  world  and  all  it  contains  can  surely  recreate 
it,  clearing  it  of  every  vestige  of  sin  and  misery,  of  its 
imperfections  and  its  limitations,  fitting  it  for  the 
dwelling  of  perfect  beings  and  of  God's  supreme  glory. 
Immanuel  will  dwell  with  the  holy  inhabitants  of  the 
new  earth  and  in  the  new  Jerusalem  which  is  to  de- 
scend into  the  glorified  earth.  Then  will  pass  away 
forever  death,  mourning,  crying  and  pain,  and  death- 
less life  and  painless  bliss  will  never  more  be  inter- 
rupted nor  disturbed.  John  is  bidden,  Write,  for  these 
things  are  true  and  faithful;  they  shall  not  fail  to 
come  to  pass. 

"Earth,  thou  grain  of  sand  on  the  shore  of  the  Uni- 
verse of  God;  thou  Bethlehem,  amongst  the  princely 


86  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PETER. 

cities  of  the  heavens,  thou  art,  and  remainest,  the 
Loved  One  amongst  ten  thousand  suns  and  vi^orlds, 
the  Chosen  of  God!  On  thee  has  the  Lord  a  great 
work  to  complete." 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 

Although  no  name  is  attached  to  this  Scripture,  it 
IS  very  generally  believed  to  be  the  production  of  the 
Apostle  John.  Witnesses  to  its  authorship  may  be 
traced  back  almost  to  the  end  of  the  first  century,  and 
they  had  the  best  opportunity  to  know  and  to  weigh 
the  evidence.  Its  close  connection  with  the  Gospel 
according  to  John  in  thought  and  style  must  lead  the 
reader  to  the  conviction  that  both  are  the  production 
of  the  same  pen. 

It,  with  the  other  six  of  this  group  of  epistles,  is 
well  called  Catholic,  or  General,  for  it  is  not  addressed 
to  any  body  of  Christians  in  particular,  as  are  James 
and  Peter,  but  to  all  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
There  is  no  age  or  people,  no  church,  whether  local  or 
national,  that  may  not  claim  it  for  its  own  and  to 
which  it  may  not  unreservedly  be  applied.  The  two 
short  epistles  which  follow  this  bear  the  names  or 
designations  to  vv^hich  they  are  addressed.  But  this 
has  no  inscription.  It  begins  without  salutation,  and 
ends  without  benediction.  The  writer  sometimes  uses 
the  first  person  when  speaking  of  himself,  but  never 
mentions  his  own  name. 

The  style  is  one  of  artless  simplicity  and  of  singular 
beauty  and  purity.  The  sentences  considered  sepa- 
rately are  marvellously  clear,  concise  and  profound. 
Each  is  perfect  in  itself  and  contains  a  distinct  and 

87 


88  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

lucid  thought.  The  style  is  sententious,  at  times  al- 
most aphoristic.  On  this  account  it  is  often  difficult  to 
trace  the  connection  between  one  sentence  and 
another,  one  paragraph  and  another.  Nevertheless,  its 
unity  is  neither  imperilled  nor  obscured  by  the  style, 
its  structure  is  flawless.  It  is  built  on  a  very  distinct 
and  noble  plan,  and  the  plan  binds  its  parts  into  a 
harmonious  whole. 

It  abounds  in  repetitions.  The  same  thought  in 
almost  identical  language  is  repeated;  often  the  idea 
being  put  in  the  positive,  then  immediately  in  the 
negative  form.  A  most  extraordinary  criticism  has 
been  founded  on  this  characteristic  of  the  epistle,  viz, : 
that  it  indicates  the  writer's  old  age  and  the  "rambling 
prattle  of  an  old  man,"  who  pours  out  pious  senti- 
ments and  reflections  without  method  or  aim.  It  is 
nothing  of  the  sort.  Instead  of  displaying  weakness 
or  garrulity,  First  John  is  the  profoundest  of  all  the 
Catholic  epistles  and  the  most  difficult  to  expound.  No 
one  who  has  really  studied  it,  who  has  gone  down 
into  its  depths,  or  even  tried  to,  could  for  a  moment 
accept  such  a  callow  criticism  as  this.  The  repetitions 
spring  from  the  nature  of  the  writing  and  from  the 
structure  of  John's  mind,  for  he  is  of  all  the  New 
Testament  writers  the  most  subtle,  penetrating  and  an- 
alytic. He  does  not  reason  as  does  Paul,  nor  argue; 
he  reveals ;  he  sets  his  truth  in  the  clearest  light  and 
lets  it  do  its  own  work.  For  John  is  a  Seer ;  piercing 
insight  into  things  is  his  great  gift.  Two  features 
specially    mark    the     epistle — the    majesty     of    the 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  89 

thoughts  and  the  simpHcity  of  the  language-features 
which  indicate  the  highest  quahty  of  genius. 
,  Antithesis  is  of  frequent  use  in  First  John.  Over 
against  each  thought  is  often  placed  its  opposite  in 
sharp  contrast.  Thus  light  and  darkness,  truth  and 
falsehood,  love  and  hate,  life  and  death,  children  of 
God  and  children  of  the  devil,  follow  one  another  in 
impressive  alternation  (cf.  i:  8-10;  iii :  8-10;  iv:  4-6). 
Owing  to  this  structure  of  sentences  there  is  a  sort  of 
rythmical  cadence  sometimes  observable,  and  one  has 
arranged  a  portion  of  the  first  chapter  as  if  it  were 
verse : 

If  we  say  we  have  no  sin, 
We  deceive  ourselves, 
And  the  truth  is  not  in  us. 

If  we  confess  our  sins, 

He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sin». 

And  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness. 

If  we  say  that  we  have  not  sinned. 
We  make  Him  a  liar; 
And  His  word  is  not  in  us. 

"In  this  instance  it  will  be  observed  that  we  pass 
from  one  opposite  to  another  and  back  again :  but  that 
to  which  we  return  covers  more  ground  than  the 
original  position,  and  is  a  distinct  advance  upon  it." 

Force  and  impressiveness  lie  in  this  method  of  in- 
struction. Such  sentences  remain  in  one's  memory. 
The  distinction  between  Christians  and  unbelievers  is 
more  sharply  brought  out  thus  than  perhaps  it  could 
otherwise  be. 


90  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

Its  authority  is  another  mark  of  the  epistle.  While 
throughout  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  John's 
tender  affection  for  those  whom  he  addresses,  yet  there 
is  a  tone  of  authority  which  is  manifest  everywhere. 
There  is  a  dignity,  a  magisterial  gravity,  that  makes 
the  epistle  both  apostolic  and  commanding.  There  is 
no  claim  of  authority  set  up,  no  assertion  that  he  pos- 
sesses it,  but  a  quiet  word  is  spoken,  a  resistless 
strength  displayed,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal,  and 
a  judgment  passed  that  is  felt  to  be  infallible  and 
final.  Thus,  *Tf  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  Of  him  who 
claims  to  know  the  Lord  and  keeps  not  His  com- 
mandments John  says  he  is  a  liar  (ii:  4)  ;  he  that  de- 
nies that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  a  liar  (ii:  22)  :  love  of 
the  brethren  is  the  sure  sign  of  being  saved;  hate  of 
the  brother  the  sign  of  being  a  murderer  (iii:  14,  15). 
Like  Paul  in  Corinthians  and  Galatians,  like  James  and 
Peter,  John  writes  with  an  authority  that  cannot  be 
challenged,  for  we  feel,  we  cannot  but  feel,  that  what 
he  says  and  on  what  he  passes  sentence  is  the  very 
truth  of  God. 

Its  finality  is  the  last  thing  to  be  mentioned  here.  The 
Gospel  by  John  is  the  final  Gospel,  not  only  in  point  of 
time,  but  also  in  contents  and  aim.  It  completes  the 
other  three.  The  First  Epistle  of  John  is  likewise 
final.  This  is  true  in  point  of  time.  It  was  probably 
written  near  the  close  of  the  apostle's  life,  i.  e.,  the 
close  of  the  first  century.  Perhaps  somewhere  be- 
tween A.  D.  90-95  it  was  written.  John  speaks  of 
those  who  denied  that  Jesus  Christ  was  come  in  the 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  91 

flesh  (iv:  3).  He  seems  to  refer  to  certain  sects  that 
began  to  flourish  about  that  time  that  held  the  Son  of 
Grod  could  not  ally  Himself  with  flesh,  with  matter, 
for  this  is  essentially  evil,  and  the  Divine  Being  could 
not  come  into  contact  with  it  without  being  contami- 
nated and  degraded;  hence  Jesus  was  only  a  creature 
who  received  special  endowment  at  His  baptism  for 
His  great  mission  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  who  died 
as  a  mere  man,  the  Spirit  having  left  Him  at  the  time 
He  cried,  **Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 

The  epistle  speaks  of  Antichrist  and  of  the  spirit  of 
Antichrist,  and  of  the  many  Antichrists,  as  if  these 
were  already  in  the  world  (ii:  18,  22;  iv:  3).  Tlie 
uniform  teaching  of  the  apostles  is  that  this  adver- 
sary, Antichrist,  is  one  of  the  very  last  foes  of  the 
cause  and  people  of  God,  that  his  time  will  be  but 
short,  and  that  he  will  receive  his  doom  at  the  hands 
of  the  Saviour  Himself.  Hence  John  writes,  "Little 
children,  it  is  the  last  hour."  The  final  conflict  is  at 
hand,  the  last  terrible  battle  is  soon  to  be  fought  and 
won;  therefore,  be  separate,  vigilant,  expectant. 


ANALYSIS. 

First  John  seems  to  fall  into  four  parts,  each  of  which  will 
repay  careful  and  earnest  study. 

Part  I.     Introduction,  chap,  i:  1-4. 
Part  II.     Fellowship,  i:  5 — ii:  29. 
Part  III.     Sonship,  iii — v:i2. 
Part  IV.     Conclusion,  v:  13-21. 


92  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

John's  Message. 

I.  The  Introduction,  i:  1-4.  Reading  these  four 
verses  somewhat  casually  one  might  suppose  th^t 
John's  object  is  to  tell  what  he  and  his  fellow-apostles 
knew  personally  of  the  Saviour,  of  their  intimacy  with 
Him,  and  the  blessed  companionship  they  had  with 
Him.  But  the  apostle  is  not  dealing  here  with  the 
great  fact  of  the  "historical  Christ,"  precious  as  that 
truth  is,  nor  with  the  opportunities  he  had  of  know- 
ing Him,  of  entering  into  close  acquaintance  with 
Him.  All  this  may  be  hinted  at  in  these  verses,  but 
this  is  not  John's  subject  nor  the  aim  of  his  writing. 
Rather,  his  purpose  is  to  instruct  Christians  in  the 
doctrine  of  Eternal  Life — its  source,  nature,  posses- 
sion, maintenance  and  blessedness.  Law  promised 
life  upon  obedience;  Eternal  Life  was  brought  by 
Jesus  Christ.  It  was  with  the  Father,  it  has  been  man- 
ifested in  the  person  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  Him 
is  given  to  all  who  are  in  Him,  so  that  they  and  He 
have  fellowship,  actual  partnership  in  the  Life  which 
is  from  God  and  which  unites  with  God.  Mark  some 
of  the  main  features  of  this  Introduction:  (i)  The 
Eternal  Life  which  was  with  the  Father  is  now  mani- 
fested in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Word  of  Life.  He  has 
brought  it  near  to  dying  men,  He  gives  it  to  all  who 
receive  Him.  (2)  John  and  his  fellow-apostles  were 
eyewitnesses  of  this  manifestation  of  the  Life.  Their 
testimony  is  corroborated  by  three  of  the  most  trust- 
worthy of  our  senses,  viz.:  hearing,  sight,  touch. 
John  and  his  fellows  heard  Him,  saw  Him,  gazed 
upon  Him,  handled  Him.     Note  the  climax;  seeing  is 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  93 

more  than  hearing;  prolonged  looking  is  more  than 
mere  seeing;  handling  is  more  than  all.  (3)  Partici- 
pation in  the  Life  brings  into  fellowship  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  (4)  John  writes  that  all  believers 
may  have  the  same  fellowship,  and  so  have  a  full  and 
blessed  joy. 

God  is  Light. 

II.  Fellowship,  i:  5 — ii:  28.  This  is  the  first  great 
theme  John  discusses,  rather,  that  he  opens  to  us. 
Understand  by  fellowship  communion,  partnership, 
and  this  with  God  and  with  one  another.  The  passage 
treating  of  this  theme  embaces  these  points — its  na- 
ture, its  maintenance,  its  recovery  when  interrupted, 
and  its  fruits.  He  does  not  fail  to  tell  us  how  we  may 
know  we  have  the  fellowship,  and  what  the  signs  arc 
of  its  presence  and  of  its  absence. 

I.  Character  of  Him  with  Whom  fellowship  is  en- 
joyed, i:  5.  "God  is  light."  The  apostle  John  gives 
us  three  most  remarkable  statements  about  God;  each 
of  them  may  be  regarded  as  a  definition  of  what  God 
is  in  Himself.  These  three  declarations  are,  "God  is 
a  Spirit"  (John  iv:  24)  ;  "God  is  light"  (i  John  i:  5)  ; 
"God  is  love"  (i  John  iv:  8).  In  all  three  the  predicate 
has  no  article,  "either  definite  or  indefinite"  (Plum- 
mer).  "We  are  not  told  that  God  is  the  Spirit,  or  the 
Light,  or  the  Love;  nor  (in  all  probability)  that  He 
is  a  Spirit,  or  a  light."  But  God  is  Spirit,  is  Light,  is 
Love:  spirit,  hght,  love  are  His  very  nature.  "They 
are  not  mere  attributes,  like  mercy  and  justice:  they 
are  Himself."  They  reveal  to  us  in  some  measure 
what  God  is  in  Himself,     The  first  relates  t(^  His 


94  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

Being,  His  Essence :  He  is  Spirit,  therefore  He  is 
without  form,  invisible,  yet  personal,  individual,  un- 
changeable. The  second,  Light,  relates  to  His  spirit- 
uality, His  infinite  purity  and  holiness.  The  third. 
Love,  to  His  disposition.  United  the  three  tell  us 
what  God  is.  No  philosophy,  no  religion,  ever  rose  to 
such  a  height  as  this.  How  infinitely  removed  is  this 
majestic  revelation  of  God  from  the  Zeus  of  the 
Greeks,  Jupiter  of  the  Romans,  and  Odin  of  our 
Saxon  and  Celtic  ancestors.  As  Light  God  unites  in 
Himself  purity  and  clearness,  beauty  and  glory,  holi- 
ness and  knowledge,  and  these  in  their  perfections. 
John  adds,  "And  darkness  in  him  there  is  none  at  all," 
the  emphatic  order  of  his  words.  This  intensifies  the 
preceding  thought;  as  Light  God  is  subject  to  no  dark- 
ness whatever ;  no  obscuring  of  Him,  no  clouding  of 
His  purity  is  possible.  As  Light  He  is  without  ad- 
mixture, abridgement,  or  change.  This  is  the  pure 
and  holy  Being  with  whom  fellowship  is  to  be  had. 

2.  How  Fellowship  with  God  is  maintained,  i:  6 — 
ii :  2.  In  this  section  of  the  epistle  the  apostle  exhibits 
how  fellowship  with  God  is  sustained,  and  how  it  is 
recovered  when  it  is  interrupted  or  suspended..  The 
teaching  is  exceedingly  practical  and  searching. 

(a)  To  have  fellowship  with  God  involves  walking 
in  the  light,  i:  6,  7.  One  must  be  in  sympathy  with 
His  mind  and  will,  must  in  some  degree  be  like  Him. 
"Can  two  walk  together  except  they  be  agreed?'* 
(Amos  iii:  3).  Walking  means  the  daily  life.  To 
walk  in  the  light  signifies  living  in  the  element  where 
God  dwells,  for  God  is  light.    To  dwell  thus  with  Him 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  95 

presupposes  that  one  is  at  peace  with  Him,  that  he 
loves  His  presence,  and  dehghts  in  communion  with 
Him.  Harmony  with  Him  in  what  He  loves  and  what 
He  hates  is  indispensable  to  companionship  with  Him. 
But  one  may  claim  fellowship,  yet  deceive  himself 
(ver.  6).  (Note,  the  word  "if"  is  repeated  in  each 
verse  of  the  chapter  from  the  6th  to  the  end.)  The 
false  claim  is  easily  detected.  If  the  one  making  it 
lives  in  sin,  walks  according  to  his  own  will  and  not 
God's,  walks  as  he  pleases,  his  claim  is  false,  he  lies 
and  does  not  speak  the  truth.  John's  language  is 
most  emphatic  and  uncompromising. 

(b)  Application  of  Christ's  blood,  ver.  7:  "The 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all 
sin."  It  alone  keeps  us  in  the  fellowship,  and  restores 
it  when  interrupted.  Note  the  force  of  the  present 
tense,  cleanseth:  it  makes  us  clean,  it  keeps  us  clean. 
Christ's  atonement  effects  two  great  results:  it  justi- 
fies the  sinner  in  God's  presence,  and  it  sanctifies  his 
life.  Note  the  force  of  the  singular  number  here  "all 
sin;"  i.  e.,  every  sin,  every  kind  and  sort  of  sin.  The 
blood  purifies  completely  and  entirely;  it  includes  the 
whole  person,  the  heart,  the  mind,  the  will  and  affec- 
tions, in  short,  the  life. 

(c)  Confession  of  sin  and  its  pardon,  i:  8,  10. 
Let  us  not  fail  to  see  how  radical  the  teaching  is 
touching  sin  in  believers  and  its  forgiveness  as  the 
condition  of  fellowship.  John  does  not  blink  mat- 
ters; with  all  the  authority  of  an  inspired  apostle  he 
writes,  "If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  our- 
selves, and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."    One  who  walks 


96  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

in  the  light — may  he  not  become  at  length  free  from 
sin?  "If  we  say  we  do  not  have  sin,  we  deceive  our- 
selves, and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  The  sentence  is 
definite  and  precise:  "If  we  say  we  do  not  have  sin." 
No  Christian,  however  upright  in  character  and  blame- 
less in  conduct,  is  freed  from  inherent  sin.  Sin  is 
still  in  him,  though  he  has  the  mastery  over  it.  It 
dwells  in  him,  though  he  does  not  dwell  in  it. 
One  who  says  he  does  not  have  sin  in  him  is 
self-deceived.  He  does  not  deceive  God,  nor  those 
who  Hve  with  him,  he  deceives  only  himself.  He  leads 
himself  astray.  He  ought  to  know  better  than  to  say 
such  a  thing,  and  he  might;  but  he  shuts  his  eyes  to 
his  actual  state,  and  so  "the  truth  is  not  in  him." 

"If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un- 
righteousness." Unconfessed  sin  prevents  fellowship. 
The  holy  Lord  cannot  hold  communion  with  a  self- 
righteous  and  self-satisfied  sinner,  nor  can  He  with  a 
saint  who  cherishes  such  a  temper.  The  next  best 
thing  to  not  being  a  sinner  at  all  is  to  confess  one's 
sins.  God  is  faithful  to  His  promise  to  forgive  when 
we  honestly  and  truly  confess,  and  righteous  in  doing 
so.  He  is  just  when  He  justifies  him  who  believes  in 
Jesus  (Rom.  iii:  26);  He  is  just  when  He  forgives 
His  child  who  confesses  his  wrongdoing  and  repents 
of  it.  This  gracious  provision  restores  to  fellowship 
when  sin  has  interrupted  it,  or  suspended  it  altogether. 

Fellowship  with  God  is  maintained  by  Christ's  ad- 
vocacy of  our  cause  before  the  Father,  ii:  i,  2:  "And 
if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  97 

Jesus  Christ  the  righteous."  "Advocate"  is  the  same 
term  which  is  used  to  designate  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
Comforter  (John  xiv:  16,  26).  It  denotes  the 
Saviour's  intercession  on  the  behalf  of  His  people. 
He  pleads  their  cause,  He  secures  their  pardon, 
peace  and  joy;  He  obtains  for  them  the  mercy  and 
the  grace  they  so  constantly  need.  His  plea  always 
avails  because  He  is  "righteous."  In  Himself,  in  His 
ways  and  works  here  on  earth,  in  His  death  and  resur- 
rection, He  has  fulfilled  all  righteousness,  has  obeyed 
perfectly  the  Father's  will,  has  glorified  Him;  and 
therefore  Him  the  Father  heareth  always.  Moreover, 
He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  on  the  ground 
of  His  finished  redemption  God  justifies,  pardons 
and  saves  all  who  trust  in  Him.  It  is  thus  that  fellow- 
ship with  God  is  maintained  and  restored  when  once 
it  has  been  forfeited  by  disobedience  and  trespass. 

3.  Requirements  of  Fellowship  with  God,  ii:  3-17. 
How  may  we  know  that  we  are  children  of  God  ?  The 
inquiry  is  of  vital  moment  to  every  Christian.  All 
want  assurance,  induitable  evidence  that  we  belong 
to  the  heavenly  family,  and  hence  are  in  the  light  and 
are  walking  with  God.  In  this  section  are  infallible 
marks  given  by  the  Spirit  Himself  by  which  we  may 
determine  our  state  and  standing  before  Him. 

(a)  Obedience.  "Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know 
him,  if  we  keep  his  commandments"  (ii:  3).  As  if 
John  said,  "I  give  you  an  infallible  sign  of  salvation 
and  of  fellowship  with  the  Lord,  viz. :  obedience  to  His 
will."  Every  word  in  this  short  sentence  is  signifi- 
cant and  emphatic.  Into  "commandments"  he  pours  a 
7 


98  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

wealth  of  meaning.  He  never  uses  the  term  lazu  to 
express  the  rule  of  Christian  obedience.  In  John's 
writings  commandments  generally  denote  the  Saviour's 
injunctions  (cf.  ver.  5). 

A  Christian  is  one  who  obeys  his  Lord  always,  not 
to  secure  eternal  life  for  this  he  already  has,  but  be- 
cause he  is  alive  unto  God,  because  he  has  come  to 
know  savingly  the  Lord  Jesus.  Christ  is  Lord.  He 
has  the  right  to  command,  we  have  the  right  only  to 
obey.  Disobedience  is  lawlessness  (iii:  4).  A  child 
of  God  cannot  be  habitually  disobedient  to  the  Master's 
will.  He  cannot  be  lawless.  We  come  to  know  that 
we  do  know  Him  when  we  habitually  seek  to  keep  His 
commandments.  "Keep"  is  a  favorite  word  with  the 
apostle.  More  than  a  score  of  times  he  employs  it 
touching  the  Lord's  word  and  will.  To  keep  is  to 
guard  and  reguard,  to  observe  and  obey  with  stead- 
fastness and  zeal.  Thus  "we  do  know  that  we  know 
him."  Our  consciousness  attests  it;  in  the  central 
deeps  of  our  being  we  know  certain  things;  we  can- 
not be  argued,  nor  ridiculed,  nor  frightened  out  of 
our  knowledge:  "We  know  that  we  know  him;"  we 
have  personal  acquaintance  with  Him  as  our  Deliverer 
and  Friend,  and  we  reach  this  sure  knowledge  by  lov- 
and  keeping  His  commandments. 

What  is  implied  in  such  obedience?  First,  a  filial 
spirit.  No  formalist,  no  legalist,  no  self-righteous  per- 
son can  by  any  possibility  love  and  obey  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord  Jesus.  A  child  of  God  alone  can 
do  so,  and  every  child  does  it  in  greater  or  less  de- 
gree; he  must,  it  is  the  essence  of  his  new  nature.    It 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  99 

implies  faith.  And  this  is  his  commandment,  "That 
we  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ"  (iii: 
23).  "Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ 
is  born  of  God"  (v:  i).  It  implies  love.  "For  this 
is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  commandments: 
and  his  commandments  are  not  grievous"  (v:  2,  3). 
We  know  His  love  when  we  cherish  His  words  (John 
xiv:  21 ;  xv:  10,  12).  These  three  principles,  the  fiHal 
spirit,  faith,  and  love,  distinguish  Christians.  They 
are  not  found  in  the  ungodly,  nor  can  they  be  simu- 
lated, counterfeited,  or  put  on  like  a  dress;  they  are 
of  the  heart  and  soul.  By  them  we  know  that  we 
know  Him.  Every  one  who  loves  His  will,  is  respon- 
sive to  His  voice,  and  sensitive  to  His  commands,  may 
press  the  glad  truth  to  his  heart  that  he  is  saved. 

(b)  Love  to  God:  "Whoso  keepeth  his  word,  in 
him  verily  is  the  love  of  God  perfected;  hereby  we 
know  that  we  are  in  him"  (ii:  5).  "If  a  man  love  me, 
he  will  keep  my  words :  and  my  Father  will  love  him, 
and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with 
him"  (John  xiv:  23).  "His  word"  is  more  compre- 
hensive than  "his  commandments ;"  it  embraces  all  He 
has  revealed  in  the  Scriptures ;  it  is  the  sum  total  of  all 
He  has  been  pleased  to  communicate  to  us.  Our 
Lord  kept  the  Father's  word  perfectly  in  all  its  parts, 
and  in  Him  indeed  was  the  Father's  love  perfected. 
Let  any  Christian  perfectly  keep  it  and  his  love  to 
God  will  likewise  be  perfect.  But  in  the  degree  that 
we  love  and  obey  Him  we  have  the  assurance  that  His 
love  is  in  us  and  abides.  Such  love  fellowship  with 
Him  requires. 


lOO  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

(c)  Abiding  in  Him:  "He  that  saith  he  abideth  in 
him  ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  he  walked" 
(ii:  6).  Abiding  in  Christ  is  another  requirement  of 
fellowship.  Abiding  in  Him  is  somewhat  additional 
to  being  in  Him.  It  is  possible  to  be  in  Him  and  yet 
not  consciously  to  abide  in  Him.  The  one  state  differs 
from  the  other  not  in  kind  but  in  degree.  Abiding  in 
Him  expresses  the  idea  of  continuing  in  Him,  being 
actively  alive  to  our  nearness  and  the  blessedness  of 
our  relations  with  Him.  He  who  keeps  up  close  and 
unbroken  union  with  Christ  is  the  most  useful  Chris- 
tian. "He  that  abideth  in  me  and  I  in  him,  the  same 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit"  (John  xv:  5).  He  that 
abides  in  Him  has  answers  to  his  prayers.  "If  ye 
abide  in  me  and  my  words  abide  in  you  ye  shall  ask 
what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you"  (John 
XV :  7).  There  is  a  suggestive  balance  of  terms  in 
the  verses  we  have  been  considering.  This  diagram 
may  serve  to  show  the  balance: 

Fellowship=Knowing  God; 
Knowing  God=  Loving  Him; 
Loving  Him=Being  in  Him; 
Being  in  Him=Abiding  in  Him. 

The  parallel  presents  a  well-defined  example  of 
biblical  climax.  If  any  one  step  in  the  parallel  is  ab- 
sent, fellowship  is  not  perfect,  it  is  marred,  perhaps 
suspended  altogether.  For  fellowship  with  God  rests 
on  union  with  Christ  and  abiding  in  Him.  This  gra- 
cious relation  secures  obedience,  love  and  walk.  The 
same  general  doctrine  is  found  in  John  xv:  1-18. 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  lot 

(d)  Loving  the  Brotherhood :  "He  that  loveth  his 
brother  abideth  in  the  Hght,  and  there  is  no  occasion 
of  stumbHng  in  him"  (ii:  lo).  Love  is  an  essential 
principle  in  fellowship;  love  to  God,  to  men,  to  the 
household  of  faith  particularly.  The  principle  is  both 
old  and  new;  old  as  Moses  (Lev.  xix:  i8;  Deut.  vi: 
5) :  new,  because  taught  and  exemplified  by  the 
Saviour.  Love  marks  the  difference  between  a  be- 
liever and  an  unbeliever :  the  one  is  in  the  light,  the 
other  in  darkness;  the  one  is  a  light-center,  the  other 
a  stumbling-block.  A  lamppost  lighted  is  a  welcome 
help;  without  a  light,  a  menace. 

(e)  Separation  from  the  world:  "Love  not  the 
world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  If 
any  man  love  the  world  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  him"  (ii:  15-17).  By  the  world  John  means  the 
whole  order  of  things  which  is  estranged  from  God, 
which  is  hostile  to  Him  and  to  His  cause  and  His 
people.  The  world  is  God's  enemy  (Jas.  iv:  4),  and  it 
is  soon  to  pass  away  under  His  righteous  judgment. 
The  world  consists  of  three  things  that  are  hateful  to 
God: 

"Lust  of  the  flesh" — the  strong,  passionate  craving 
of  the  unrenewed  heart  for  things  evil  and  forbidden ; 
inordinate  yearning  for  the  gratification  of  one's  own 
desires,  the  accomplishment  of  one's  own  plans  and 
purpose,  right  or  wrong:  "Lust  of  the  eyes" — the 
fierce  passion  to  see  and  enjoy  the  things  the  flesh 
longs  for,  that  restless,  insatiable  delight  in  what 
pleases  the  flesh,  what  pampers  and  satisfies  it,  for 
what  feeds  the  basest  appetites  of  our  nature.     The 


102  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

lust  of  the  flesh  is  fed  by  the  lust  of  the  eyes.  These 
two  ''lusts"  are  acquisitive,  they  seize  and  hold  all  that 
the  sinful  nature  craves.  But  there  is  a  third:  "the 
Pride  of  Life."  The  lust  of  the  flesh  and  the  lust  of 
the  eyes  are  at  bottom  selfish  and  lawless.  "Pride  of 
life"  is  the  same  spirit  of  utter  selfishness  expending 
itself  in  vain  show  and  pomp.  It  will  lavishly  squan- 
der wealth  in  proud,  ostentatious  display.  It  will  in- 
trigue and  fawn  if  thereby  it  may  win  the  notice  of  the 
illutrious  and  the  great,  and  strut  with  haughty  arro- 
gance among  its  equals  and  inferiors.  The  first  two 
are  egoism  of  the  meanest  sort;  the  third  is  egotism 
pretentious  and  shallow  to  the  last  degree.  All  be- 
long to  a  life  that  is  false,  hollow  and  bitterly  disap- 
pointing. A  Christian  is  bidden  stand  aloof  from  this 
"world."  He  must  heed  these  solemn  words  of  John, 
the  still  more  solemn  words  of  James :  "Know  ye  not 
that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God? 
Whosoever  therefore  would  be  the  friend  of  the  world 
maketh  himself  an  enemy  of  God."  A  holy  separa- 
tion from  this  zvorld  must  be  maintained  if  fellowship 
with  God  is  to  be  real  and  permanent. 

(f)  Anointing  of  the  Spirit,  ii:  20,  27.  The  anoint- 
ing which  believers  receive  is  the  Spirit  Himself  and 
not  a  gift  or  gifts  from  Him.  It  is  affirmed  that  they 
who  have  this  sacred  chrism  "know  all  things,"  that 
it  teaches  them  so  that  they  may  be  independent  of 
mere  human  teachers,  that  by  it  they  are  able  to  de- 
tect false  teaching.  By  this  is  not  meant  that  any  new 
faculty  or  organ  of  the  soul  is  imparted  so  that  be- 
lievers may  know  universal  truth;  not  this;  rather, 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  103 

it  denotes  divine  truth  as  distinguished  from  error 
which  breaks  fellowship  and  tends  to  stifle  it  alto- 
gether. We  may  grieve  the  Spirit  so  as  to  hinder  His 
work  in  us  and  thus  interrupt  our  fellowship  with 
God  (Eph.  iv:  30). 

(g)  Abiding  in  Christ,  ii:  28:  "And  now,  little 
children,  abide  in  him."  This  with  the  next  verse  con- 
cludes the  second  main  division  of  the  epistle,  and  the 
last  thing  the  apostle  has  to  say  to  the  children  is, 
Abide  in  Christ.  He  has  repeatedly  urged  them  to  do 
this ;  he  does  so  again  because  Christ  ere  long  is  com- 
ing to  the  earth,  and  our  relation  to  Him  and  our  re- 
ward likewise  will  then  be  gloriously  manifested. 
John  is  anxious  that  we  should  maintain  uninterrupted 
fellowship  that  he  and  his  fellow-workers  should  not 
be  ashamed  in  His  presence  as  unfaithful  shepherds, 
as  slothful  servants. 

God  is  Love. 

III.  Sonship,  iii-v:  12.  This  section  of  the  epistle 
may  be  entitled,  The  Children  of  God  and  the  Chil- 
dren of  the  Devil  contrasted.  The  antithesis  in  Sec- 
tion n  is  Light  and  Darkness.  The  antithesis  in  Sec- 
tion III  is  a  double  one :  Righteousness  and  Sin ;  or, 
Love  and  Hate. 

Chap,  ii :  29  is  the  connecting  link  between  the  two 
sections:  "If  ye  know  that  he  is  righteous,  ye  know 
that  every  one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of 
him."  Here  is  evidence  both  of  sonship  and  of  fel- 
lowship.   He  whose  daily  life  is  one  of  obedience  and 


104  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

uprightness  gives  proof  that  he  is  born  of  God.  The 
Hke  nature  is  demonstrated  by  the  hke  fruits.  Note 
the  use  of  the  present  tense,  "doeth;"  it  is  character- 
istic of  First  John.  It  denotes  a  habit  of  Hfe,  the  pre- 
vaiHng  principle  of  one's  hfe,  not  a  single  act,  but  a 
succession  of  acts  which  make  up  the  life.  The  apostle 
sharply  contrasts  "doing  righteousness"  and  "doing 
sin"  (iii:  7,  8,  9).  The  fundamental  idea  is  the  same 
in  both  expressions,  viz. :  that  it  is  not  one  act  alone 
that  is  meant,  but  habitual  practice,  the  life-conduct 
of  a  man. 

We  may  now  add  other  items  to  the  parallelism  of 
the  epistle: 

Being  in  Him=Abiding  in  Him; 
Abiding  in  Him=Anointed  of  Him; 
Anointed  of  Him=Born  of  Him; 
Born  of  Him=^Doing  Righteousness, 

I.  The  origin  and  the  destiny  of  God's  children, 
iii:  1-3.  On  this  great  passage  only  brief  notes  can 
be  made,  not  an  exposition.  The  authorized  version 
has  "sons  of  God;"  the  English  and  American  revis- 
ions alike  have  "children;"  and  beyond  question  this 
is  preferable.  Paul  generally  speaks  of  the  "sons," 
and  of  "adoption,"  for  he  has  in  mind  the  legal  stand- 
ing and  the  privileges  of  Christians.  John  scarcely 
ever  uses  the  term  sons,  but  always  children.  (Rev. 
xxi :  7  is  perhaps  an  exception.)  And  this  name  which 
he  gives  them  includes  two  ideas,  their  birth  into  the 
heavenly  family,  and  the  filial  spirit  by  which  they 
are  animated.    John  does  not  dwell  on  the  adoption  of 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  105 

sons  into  God's  household — this  is  Paul's  theme — but 
on  their  birth.  His  words  {tekna,  teknia)  "little 
children"  is  exactly  expressed  by  the  Scotch  bairns, 
born  ones.  According  to  Paul  we  receive  the  place 
and  the  rights  of  children  in  God's  family;  according 
to  John,  the  nature  and  the  name  of  children.  The 
revisions  add  the  precious  and  assuring  words,  "and 
we  are."  We  are  not  only  called  the  children  of  God, 
but  we  are. 

The  origin  of  our  sonship  is  here  traced  to  the 
Father's  love:  "Behold  what  manner  of  love  the 
Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be 
called  children  of  God :  and  such  we  are."  It  is  not 
so  much  the  magnitude  of  the  Father's  love  that  is 
here  extolled ;  it  is  its  quality,  its  character.  That  He 
should  love  us,  exiles  and  outcasts,  ragged  and  starv- 
ing prodigals  as  we  are,  and  that  He  should  bring  us 
into  His  holy  family  as  children,  and  give  us  not  the 
name  only,  but  also  the  nature  and  the  character  of 
children !  What  a  wonder  of  love  this  is,  "all  love  sur- 
passing." And  yet  this  is  what  He  has  done  for  every 
one  who  receives  and  believes  His  testimony  about 
His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  "Beloved,  now  are  we  the  chil- 
dren of  God."  Children  we  who  trust  in  Christ  are 
called,  and  children  we  are.  No  doubt  is  felt  or  ex- 
pressed. The  epistle  is  full  of  assurances.  "For  this 
cause  the  world  knoweth  us  not  because  it  knew  him 
not."  Natural  men  knew  not  Jesus  Christ  when  He 
was  here ;  no  more  do  they  know  His  children.  Really 
to  know  a  child  of  God  is  to  be  a  child  of  God.  I 
know  a  man  because  I  have  a  man's  nature;  a  brute 


lo6  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

cannot  know  me,  for  it  has  not  my  nature.  If  one 
knows  not  God  in  Christ,  how  can  he  know  them  who 
belong  to  God's  family?  "Beloved,  now  are  we  chil- 
dren of  God."  We  do  not  much  look  like  it  as  to 
outward  appearance.  The  resemblance  between  what 
we  now  are  and  what  we  shall  be  can  hardly  be  traced. 
We  are  pilgrims  traveling  in  disguise  at  present, 
weary  often  and  travel-stained,  but  by  and  by  the  dis- 
guise shall  drop  off,  and  we  shall  appear  in  His  like- 
ness, clothed  with  robes  of  unsullied  light  and  beauty, 
for  "we  shall  be  like  him  and  see  him  as  he  is." 
That  will  be  the  glorious  day  of  His  espousals  and  of 
our  crowning.  The  hope  of  seeing  Him  and  of  being 
like  Him  prompts  to  holiness  of  life  and  sanctity  of 
spirit.  Therefore  it  is  added,  "And  every  one  that  hath 
this  hope  set  on  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  he  is 
pure." 

2.  iii :  4-24.  These  verses  furnish  two  main  proofs 
of  Sonship;  rather,  they  point  out  the  two  main  fea- 
tures in  Sonship,  viz. :  righteousness  and  love. 

(i)  Righteousness  is  evidence  of  Sonship  (iii: 
4-10).  Negatively,  doing  sin  is  doing  lawlessness,  for 
sin  is  lawlessness  (ver.  4).  Doing,  as  already  noted, 
means  practice,  habit,  persistent  conduct.  Whoever 
thus  sins,  lives  in  sin,  habitually  practices  sin,  has 
neither  seen  Christ  nor  known  Him.  Positively,  "he 
that  doeth  righteousness  is  righteous."  That  is,  one 
who  loves  righteousness,  who  lives  in  that  sphere,  and 
who  makes  righteousness  the  chief  end  of  his  being, 
is  of  God  and  belongs  to  His  household.  Opposition 
to  sin  is  the  controlling  principle  of  one  born  of  God. 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  107 

Love  of  sin  and  the  persistent  doing  of  sin  is  the  con- 
trolHng  principle  of  one  belonging  to  the  devil,  who  is 
the  habitual  sinner  from  the  beginning. 

The  child  of  God  does  not  live  in  the  practice  of 
sin,  he  lives  in  the  practice  of  righteousness.  Sin  is 
in  him,  but  he  does  not  live  in  it;  holiness  is  the  realm 
where  he  seeks  to  dwell.  John's  doctrine  on  this  mat- 
ter is  summed  up  in  iii:  9.  It  is  a  difficult  verse,  but 
its  main  idea  is  clear :  "Whosoever  is  begotten  of  God 
doeth  no  sin,  because  his  seed  abideth  in  him :  and  he 
cannot  sin  because  he  is  begotten  of  God"  (R.  V.). 
Sinless  perfection  certainly  is  not  meant,  for  that 
would  contradict  i  :  8:  "If  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." 
Some  hold  that  it  is  the  new  nature  or  life  in  the  child 
of  God  that  does  not  sin  and  that  cannot  sin ;  but  that 
the  old  nature  which  is  still  in  the  saint  does  sin.  But 
this  view  involves  a  sort  of  double  consciousness  and 
a  divided  responsibility,  which  contradicts  our  experi- 
ence. It  is  our  whole  self  that  seeks  to  do  righteous- 
ness, and  it  is  our  whole  self  that  sins;  otherwise,  re- 
sponsibility for  evil  conduct  would  largely  disappear, 
and  the  worst  type  of  antinomianism  would  ensue. 
The  meaning  of  the  verse  appears  to  be  chiefly  this: 
he  who  is  begotten  of  God  does  not  love  sin  nor  live  in 
the  practice  of  it;  he  hates  it,  and  abhors  himself 
when  he  commits  it;  he  devoutly  seeks  total  deliver- 
ance from  it.  He  that  is  not  born  of  God  loves  sin 
and  is  its  slave.  The  Seed  that  abides  in  him  probably 
is  the  new,  the  divine  nature  which  he  receives  in  re- 
generation, and  which  is  not  extirpated  when  even 


lo3  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

gross  sin  is  committed.  "He  cannot  sin"  signifies  that 
it  is  impossible  a  believer  should  live  in  evil  and  make 
it  the  habit  of  his  life.  He  cannot  live  in  it,  it  is 
foreign  to  his  new  nature. 

3.  Love  is  evidence  of  Sonship,  iii:  11-24.  Love  is 
the  keyword  of  this  portion  of  the  chapter  and  much 
that  follows.  It  runs  through  the  rest  of  the  epistle. 
It  occurs  16  times  as  a  substantive,  25  times  as  a  verb, 
and  5  times  as  a  verbal  adjective.  No  wonder  John 
makes  so  much  of  it  when  he  opens  the  chapter  with 
the  note  of  supreme  admiration  and  wonderment  at 
the  display  of  the  Father's  love.  Behold!  He  names 
us  children,  and  loves  us  as  such. 

Brotherly  love  is  the  chief  content  of  the  Gospel 
message :  "Love  one  another."  Jerome  relates  that 
when  John  was  too  old  and  feeble  to  preach  he  had 
one  little  exhortation  which  he  did  not  cease  to  re- 
peat when  carried  into  the  assembly,  "Little  children, 
love  one  another.  It  is  the  Lord's  command,  and  it 
is  enough." 

Hate  is  love's  opposite  and  its  enemy;  it  is  Cain- 
like and  murderous.  Hate,  malignity  is  foreign  to  the 
real  Christian  spirit.  Hatred  is  deadly.  Love  is  the 
infallible  mark  of  spiritual  life.  "We  know  that  we 
have  passed  out  of  death  into  life  because  we  love  the 
brethren."  Life  is  not  the  cause  of  love  but  its  fruit. 
If  we  have  the  fruit  we  may  be  sure  we  have  the  life. 

Love  gladly  goes  out  in  helpfulness  of  others.  It 
is  practical,  generous  and  self-sacrificing.  If  not,  it 
is  not  real.  If  we  say  we  love  God  and  yet  refuse  or 
neglect  to  help  those  who  are  destitute,  how  dwells 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  109 

the  love  of  God  in  us?  (cf.  James  ii:  15,  16).  The 
man  who  withholds  aid  from  the  needy  may  with  his 
tongue  say  he  loves  God,  but  with  his  hand  and  his 
heart  he  denies  it. 

jii :  24  introduces  for  the  first  time  in  the  epistle  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  we  come  to  know  our  sonship  by  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit  who  bears  witness  with  our  spirits 
that  we  are  the  children  of  God. 

4.  Spiritual  Discernment  an  evidence  of  Sonship, 
iv:  1-6.  This  passage  treats  of  false  spirits  and  of 
their  detection  and  repulsion. 

The  right  to  judge  teachers  and  to  test  doctrine  be- 
longs to  all  Christians.  Our  Lord  Himself  imposed 
this  duty  on  His  people  (Matt,  vii:  15-19).  The 
necessity  of  such  trial  is  recognized :  "Beloved,  believe 
not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits  whether  they  are 
of  God ;  because  many  false  prophets  are  gone  out  into 
the  world."  Christ  foretold  their  advent  (Matt,  xxiv: 
24).  Paul  encountered  not  a  few  of  them.  The 
world  is  filled  with  them  at  the  present  time.  Some 
of  them  teach  partial  truth,  that  which  is  palatable, 
while  that  which  is  distasteful  and  repugnant  to  the 
natural  heart  is  suppressed.  Others  teach  error  and 
nothing  else.  In  our  day  as  not  for  ages  past  Satan 
transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  and  de- 
ceives even  the  most  wary  and  the  cautious.  Never 
perhaps  has  there  been  more  need  of  trying  the  spirits 
than  now. 

The  apostle  furnishes  two  infallible  tests  of  both 
teachers  and  teaching  (vers.  2-6).  The  first  relates 
to  Christ's  person  and  work.     What  do  they  say  of 


no  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

Him?  What  is  their  doctrine  concerning  Him?  Do 
they  deny  His  mission  ?  His  Deity  ?  His  Virgin  birth  ? 
His  resurrection?  H  they  do,  then  they  are  of  the 
spirit  of  Antichrist,  they  are  enemies  of  the  blessed 
Lord  Jesus,  and  therefore  no  beHever  in  Him  can  hold 
fellowship  with  them.  This  is  an  infallible  test  in- 
deed, for  every  false  prophet,  every  heretical  teacher 
invariably  bears  false  witness  against  the  Son  of  God. 

The  second  is  their  following:  "They  are  of  the 
world;  the  world  heareth  them."  God's  children  are 
not  of  this  company  nor  can  be.  "A  stranger  will  they 
not  follow,  but  will  flee  from  him ;  for  they  know  not 
the  voice  of  strangers."  Whoever  is  born  of  God  knows 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  that  speaks  to  him 
through  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  That  voice  he 
hears  and  heeds.  "He  that  is  not  of  God  heareth  not 
us.  Hereby  know  we  the  spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit 
of  error."  These  are  sure  tests  both  of  profession  and 
of  character. 

5.  Love  the  supreme  evidence  of  the  new  birth, 
iv:  7-21.  This  is  the  third  time  the  apostle  adduces 
love  as  the  prime  attestation  of  sonship  and  fellow- 
ship. The  first  mention  (ii:  7-1 1 )  marks  the  govern- 
ing principle  of  Christian  behavior.  The  second  (iii: 
11-24)  presents  the  proofs  of  sonship  in  God's  family. 
The  third  (iv:  7-21)  explains  the  origin,  the  energy 
and  the  steadfast  confidence  of  this  divine  force.  Its 
source  is  God  Himself,  "for  God  is  love."  This  grace 
so  highly  commended  by  John  is  not  of  earth ;  it 
springs  not  from  any  merely  human  fountain,  it  is  not 
native  to  the  human  heart.    "We  love  him  because  he 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  m 

first  loved  us."  The  parentage  of  our  love  to  God  is 
His  love  to  us.  He  loves  us  into  loving  Himself  and 
our  fellowmen.  "Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved 
God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins.  Beloved,  if  God  so  loved 
us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one  another." 

Love  is  the  faculty  by  which  we  know  Him.  It 
leads  into  an  acquaintance  with  Him,  for  it  has  eyes 
that  see,  ears  that  hear,  a  heart  that  feels  and  that 
answers  to  His  love.  The  natural  man  is  both  blind 
and  deaf  as  to  the  love  of  God ;  he  knows  nothing  of 
it,  it  is  foolishness  to  him.  To  the  Lord's  child  it  is  a 
precious  reality.  Love  casts  out  fear,  and  fills  us  with 
a  bHssful  confidence  (iv:  16-18).  For  the  Lord  Jesus 
and  believers  belong  to  the  same  family,  have  the  same 
tender  Father,  and  are  heirs  to  the  same  glorious  heri- 
tage. Therefore,  they  have  no  ground  to  dread  even 
the  awful  Day  of  Judgment;  for  the  children  have  the 
same  standing  with  God  as  has  the  Elder  Brother 
Himself. 

Can  this  love  of  God  be  defined?  Not  wholly. 
Some  things  touching  it,  however,  may  be  said.  God's 
love,  in  general,  is  that  mighty  principle  which  leads 
Him  to  desire  and  seek  the  good  of  all  His  moral 
creatures ;  to  impart  benefits  to  them  in  every  scale  and 
degree  of  blessing;  to  recover  and  restore  them  when 
they  have  turned  aside  from  their  true  end,  and  lost 
themselves  through  sin ;  to  admit  them  to  participation 
in  His  own  holy,  blessed  life,  in  which  He  and  they 
become  one,  as  the  Father  and  Son  are  one  (Orr). 
Love  alone  explains  God's  marvellous  dealings  with 


112  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

our  rebellious  race.  When  we  remember  the  world's 
treatment  of  Him,  its  rejection  of  His  authority,  its 
idolatries,  its  profanities,  its  calumnies  and  its  slan- 
ders against  Him,  we  are  amazed  at  His  patience  with 
it,  His  long-suffering.  "The  forbearance  of  God" — 
how  wonderful  it  is!  The  secret  of  it  is  His  love. 
"God  is  love:"  not  only  loving,  but  love.  We  know 
He  is  righteous,  but  we  are  nowhere  told  He  is  righ- 
teousness. We  know  He  is  almighty,  but  we  nowhere 
read  God  is  power.  Twice  we  are  told,  "God  is  love." 
It  is  His  nature.  This  is  the  key  to  His  gracious  ways 
with  the  disobedient  children  of  men.  It  should  be 
noted  also  that  Christian  love  is  not  a  mere  feeling, 
nor  mood,  nor  sentiment,  nor  impulse.  It  is  a  vital 
principle  which  controls  the  whole  life,  which  trans- 
forms one*s  habits,  guides  one's  ways,  shapes  one's 
whole  course,  and  leads  one  to  rejoice  in  hope  of  the 
coming  glory. 

6.  Faith  the  evidence  of  sonship,  v:  1-12.  "Whoso- 
ever believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  of  God" 
(cf.  iv:  4).  It  is  a  faith  that  is  obedient  to  the  Lord's 
commands,  and  is  victorious  over  the  world  (vers. 
2-5).  Love  is  a  master-principle,  is  an  all-conquering 
principle.  It  is  one  that  is  assured  that  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah,  the  promised  Deliverer ;  that  is  just  as  sure 
that  He  is  also  the  Son  of  God.  In  the  one  case  it  re- 
ceives the  testimony  that  He  fills  the  Messianic  ofiFxces 
of  Prophet,  Priest  and  King.  In  the  other  it  holds 
Him  to  be  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  Himself  the  true 
God.  The  ground  of  this  faith  is  the  threefold  testi- 
mony of  the  Spirit,  the  water,  and  the  blood  (v:  8). 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  113 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  supreme  witness.  "The  water" 
probably  signifies  His  baptism  at  the  Jordan  when  the 
Father  bare  His  emphatic  testimony  that  He  was  well 
pleased  in  Him.  "The  blood"  no  doubt  is  that  of  the 
cross.  He  is  thus  declared  to  be  both  Messiah  and 
Son  of  God  on  whom  faith  may  confidently  rest. 

Prayer    and    the    Certainty    of    Christian 
Knowledge. 

IV.  Conclusion,  v:  13-21. 

Intercessory  prayer  is  most  precious,  but  It  is  dis- 
criminative (v:  16).  For  one  at  least  no  prayer  is  to 
be  offered,  for  one  who  has  sinned  "the  sin  unto  death." 
To  determine  with  any  positiveness  what  the  "sin  unto 
death"  is,  is  most  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  It  is  not 
an  ordinary  transgression  into  which  professing  Chris- 
tians may  fall,  and  often  do;  It  must  be  one  that  is 
extraordinary,  heinous  and  mortal  in  the  deepest  sense. 
It  seems  to  be  a  single  act  that  cuts  the  sinner  off  from 
all  intercession.  Some  regard  it  as  identical  with  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  "unpardonable  sin." 
Others  think  it  Is  not  this,  but  something  akin  to  it, 
a  sin  that  is  peculiar  and  fatal.  "Death,"  the  punish- 
ment of  it,  appears  to  be  eternal  death.  If  it  were 
physical  death,  as  many  believe,  the  passage  would  be 
readily  understood,  and  Instances  of  such  transgres- 
sion ending  in  the  death  of  the  transgressors  are  found 
In  Scripture,  e.  g.,  i  Cor.  v :  i ;  xl :  30 ;  i  Tim.  1 :  20. 
No  doubt  there  are  even  now  cases  of  fatal  sickness 
brought  on  by  sins  for  which  no  prayer  is  available 
8 


114  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

as  respects  recovery.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  physi- 
cal death  is  meant.  "Life"  all  through  the  epistle 
means  eternal  life;  death,  likewise,  seems  to  mean  in 
each  case  eternal  death. 

Design  of  First  John,  Chap,  v:  13.  "These  things 
have  I  written  unto  you,  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have 
eternal  life,  even  unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of 
the  Son  of  God"  (R.  V.). 

"These  things"  embraces  the  whole  epistle.  The 
verse  states  the  object  of  this  epistle,  namely,  that 
Christians  may  know  they  have  eternal  life.  He 
writes  the  Gospel  that  "ye  may  believe  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believing  ye  may 
have  life  in  his  name"  (John  xx:  31).  He  writes  the 
epistle  "that  ye  may  know  ye  have  eternal  life."  The 
Gospel  is  designed  to  put  us  in  possession  of  eternal 
life :  the  epistle  is  intended  to  lead  us  to  know  we  have 
it.  The  one  aims  to  bring  us  to  a  saving  faith ;  the 
other  to  make  us  know  our  faith  is  saving.  To  have 
a  thing  and  to  know  we  have  it  are  not  always  the 
same.  We  may  have  a  thing  and  yet  be  in  doubt 
whether  we  possess  it.  One's  name  may  be  in  a  will 
as  heir  to  a  great  inheritance,  and  he  be  ignorant  of 
the  fact.  We  may  think  we  have  eternal  life,  yet  de- 
ceive ourselves,  cherishing  feeling  for  faith,  mistaking 
a  wish  for  ownership.  Many  sincere  Christians  go 
through  life  with  little  or  no  assurance  that  they  are 
saved.  There  are  those  who  think  it  is  even  a  kind  of 
virtue  to  doubt,  who  look  on  the  full  assurance  of  sal- 
vation as  a  sort  of  presumption  which  genuine  hu- 
mility forbids  one  to  claim.     Now  this  epistle   fur- 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  115 

nishes  us  with  infallible  evidences  of  our  state  before 
God.  It  provides  marks  and  traits  whereby  the  be- 
liever may  know  assuredly  that  he  is  passed  from 
death  into  life,  is  now  named  and  anointed  for  eternal 
bliss.  We  note  some  of  these  tokens  and  sings  of  the 
saved  condition  which  John  so  plentifully  gives  us  in 
this  Scripture. 

I.  Believing  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  v:  13 
(cf.  John  i:  12;  i  John  iii:  23;  v:  i).  His  name 
stands  for  Himself,  for  all  He  is  and  for  all  He  prom- 
ises. His  great  title,  Son  of  God,  at  once  pledges  to 
the  believer  His  grace  and  love  and  power  to  do  for 
him  up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  need.  Faith  lays 
hold  on  His  pledges  and  comforts  itself  with  the 
assurance  that  it  will  all  be  made  good  to  him  even 
as  the  Lord  has  said.  There  is  an  element  in  saving 
faith  of  persuasion  that  salvation  is  guaranteed  to  the 
believer.  Here  is  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  evan- 
gelical churches  on  the  subject  that  is  worthy  of  all 
acceptation:  "True  and  saving  faith  ...  is  a  cordial 
reception  and  appropriation  of  him  (Christ)  by  the 
sinner  as  his  Saviour,  with  an  accompanying  persua- 
sion or  assurance  corresponding  to  the  degree  or 
strength  of  his  faith,  that  he  shall  be  saved  by  him.'* 
Heb.  xi:  I  confirms  this  testimony:  "Now  faith  is 
assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  a  conviction  of  things 
not  seen"  (R.  V.).  Whoever  savingly  believes  on  the 
name  of  the  Son  of  God  has  this  witness  in  his  per- 
sonal consciousness.  "God  hath  given  us  eternal  life, 
and  this  life  is  in  his  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath 
life,  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life." 


Ii6  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

The  apostle  gives  us  many  marks  whereby  we  may 
know  that  we  are  children  of  God.  These  have  been 
already  noticed  in  this  study.  There  are  mentioned 
again  as  distinct  marks  of  the  saved  state — 

2.  Walking  in  the  light  is  proof  of  our  state,  i:  7. 
He  who  walks  with  God  must  love  the  company  of 
the  godly;  he  cannot  habitually  dwell  with  them  who 
are  the  Lord's  foes.  In  what  society  do  we  delight? 
Our  tastes,  desires,  affections — what  sort  of  company 
attracts  and  holds  them?  When  Peter  and  John  were 
released  from  arrest  "they  went  to  their  own  com- 
pany." They  could  go  to  no  other.  They  must  seek 
their  own  kind.  This  is  characteristic  of  all  the  saints; 
they  love  His  family;  they  do  not  the  family  of  the 
ungodly.  In  our  deepest  and  truest  selves,  where  do 
we  live? 

3.  Confession  of  sin  and  pardon,  1:  8-10.  What  is 
our  attitude  toward  sin?  Do  we  dread  it?  confess  it? 
forsake  it?  and  seek  after  holiness?  If  so,  we  have 
that  much  of  evidence  that  we  belong  to  God. 

4.  Obedience  is  a  signal  mark  of  Sonship,  ii:  3. 
"Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know  him,  if  we  keep 
his  commandments."  An  obedient  child  in  a  house- 
hold knows  that  he  has  the  love  of  his  father  and  his 
mother  when  he  gladly  and  habitually  obeys.  A  dis- 
obedient son  is  always  in  fear;  genuine  fellowship 
with  his  parents  he  does  not  have  nor  can  so  long  as 
he  seeks  his  own  will  and  walks  in  his  own  ways.  It 
is  an  infallible  sign  this  of  obedience. 

5.  Separation  from  the  world  is  another  proof  of 
our   Sonship,   ii:    15-17.      It   is   a   marvellous,   great 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  117 

• 
world  we  live  in,  and  it  has  stupendous  attractions. 
Its  riches,  its  splendors,  its  pleasures,  its  refinements 
and  its  gratifications — how  do  these  and  the  like  aflfect 
us?    Do  we  love  it  or  turn  from  it? 

6.  The  hope  of  seeing  Christ  and  being  like  Him 
is  another  token  of  Sonship,  iii:  1-4.  Whoever  waits 
and  longs  for  Christ's  coming,  whoever  yearns  to  see 
Him  and  to  be  like  Him,  whoever  lives  soberly  and 
righteously  and  godly  in  this  evil  world,  looking  for 
that  Blessed  Hope,  has  the  proof  in  himself  that  he  is 
a  child  of  God. 

7.  A  life  of  righteousness  is  another  evidence  of 
Sonship,  iii:  7-10.  Whoever  does  righteousness  as  a 
habit  of  his  soul,  whoever  loves  righteousness  and 
makes  it  the  aim  and  the  effort  of  his  whole  self,  may 
take  comfort  in  the  assurance  that  he  is  born  of  God, 
for  he  that  "doeth  righteousness  is  born  of  him." 

8.  Love  of  the  brethren  is  still  another  proof  of 
Sonship,  iii:  14.  "We  know  that  we  have  passed  out 
of  death  into  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren." 
Brotherly  love  is  the  supreme  test  of  our  standing  be- 
fore God. 

9.  Faith  is  yet  another  evidence  of  Sonship,  v:  4,  5. 
It  is  a  victorious  faith,  for  it  overcomes  the  world ;  it 
is  a  faith  that  receives  Jesus  as  the  Christ  and  as  the 
Son  of  God,  Deliverer  and  Divine,  and  therefore  able 
to  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity  and  from  all  enemies, 
even  death  itself. 

10.  Certainty  of  Christian  knowledge,  v:  18-20.  In 
this  passage  the  term  know  occurs  four  times.  It  is 
found  three  times  in  verses  13-15;  seven  times  in  this 


Ii8  FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

short  section  of  the  epistle;  and  more  than  a  score  of 
times  in  the  letter.  The  apostle  attaches  great  value  to 
the  word ;  it  is  the  hinge  on  which  turns  the  certainty 
of  our  salvation.  It  expresses  the  utmost  assurance. 
**0  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,"  sang  the 
Psalmist  long  ago.  "Try  for  yourselves  and  you  will 
know,  you  cannot  help  but  know."  So  John  seems  to 
say  to  his  readers. 

V:  i8,  "We  know  that  whosoever  is  born  of  God 
sinneth  not."  We  know  it  from  the  Lord's  own  testi- 
mony, iii :  9.  Does  this  mean  that  the  Christian  never 
sins?  Certainly  not,  for  "if  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." 
He  who  is  born  of  God  does  not  practice  sin,  does  not 
live  in  sin,  he  cannot.  The  new  life  he  has  received 
is  holy  and  seeks  holiness;  the  grace  given  him  for- 
bids his  sinning.  When  he  falls  into  sin  he  confesses 
the  wrongdoing,  repents  of  it,  turns  away  from  it, 
and  seeks  the  Lord's  pardon  and  is  fully  forgiven. 
The  knowledge  of  this  comforting  truth  rests  on 
Christ's  word,  and  on  the  believer's  personal  experi- 
ence. 

V:  19,  "We  know  that  we  are  of  God."  We  know 
it  by  all  the  marks,  signs,  tokens  and  proofs  so  plenti- 
fully furnished  in  this  epistle.  Our  state  and  stand- 
ing, therefore,  is  totally  different  from  that  of  the 
world,  for  "the  world"  lies  in  the  wicked  one.  The 
figure  is  that  of  a  child  lying  in  the  lap  of  its  parent. 
In  v:  18  the  evil  one  toucheth  him  not  who  is 
born  of  God.  That  is,  the  devil  cannot  ever  again 
seize  hold  of  and  rule  him  that  is  a  child  of  God. 


FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  119 

Here  we  are  told  that  the  unbelieving  world  lies  in  his 
embrace,  rests  in  his  lap!  Nobody  believes  such  a 
radical  and  frightful  statement  but  a  genuine  Chris- 
tian. This  inspired  apostle,  however,  most  solemnly 
affirms  it,  and  believe  it  we  must  if  we  are  Christians. 
V :  20,  "And  we  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is  come, 
and  hath  given  us  an  understanding,  that  we  may 
know  him  that  is  true,  and  we  are  in  him  that  is  true, 
even  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ."  We  know  it  by  His 
Spirit,  by  His  promise,  and  by  the  enlightened  con- 
sciousness within  us.  "This  is  the  true  God  and 
eternal  life.  Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from 
idols." 


SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 

In  this  brief  letter  there  are  several  words  and 
phrases  that  are  identical  with  language  found  in 
John's  First  Epistle.  Indeed,  it  has  been  pointed  out 
that  of  the  thirteen  verses  of  Second  John  eight  are 
found  in  First  John.  This  fact  goes  far  to  prove  that 
the  author  of  the  one  writing  is  also  the  author  of  the 
other. 

The  writer  styles  himself  "the  Elder."  The  term  is 
the  same  as  Presbyter.  This  title  describes  age;  no 
doubt  he  was  far  advanced  in  life  when  he  wrote,  for 
it  is  generally  believed  that  John  lived  to  be  nearly  if 
not  quite  one  hundred  years  old,  and  he  probably  died 
about  the  close  of  the  first  Christian  century.  Toward 
the  end  of  the  century  the  epistle  was  written.  It  de- 
scribes also  a  fatherly  relation  between  him  and  those 
whom  he  so  tenderly  addresses,  and  his  official  posi- 
tion. He  was  "the  Elder,"  as  was  Peter  likewise 
(i  Peter  v:  i).  Hence  John  speaks  both  with  paternal 
affection  and  apostolic  authority. 

The  epistle  is  addressed  "unto  the  elect  lady  and 
her  children,"  which  docs  not  mean  the  whole  church, 
nor  any  single  congregation  of  Christians,  but  an  in- 
dividual woman  in  whose  family  were  children.  Who 
she  was  can  not  be  determined  with  any  certainty.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  her  name  was  Electa,  but 

120 


SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  121 

the  use  of  the  same  word  in  ver.  13  seems  to  forbid  it. 
"The  elect  sister"  of  that  verse  cannot  be  a  proper 
name.  With  more  probabiUty  it  is  thought  that  the 
term  for  "lady"  is  to  be  understood  as  a  proper  name, 
and  that  we  should  translate  as  follows :  "To  the  elect 
Kyria."  Kyria  was  in  use  as  the  name  of  a  woman 
in  those  ancient  times,  and  there  is  no  impropriety  in  so 
understanding  it  here.  At  any  rate,  she  was  a  person 
of  note  and  of  influence.  She  was  training  her  house- 
hold in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  aged  apostle  attests  her  faithfulness  and  her  suc- 
cess; he  found  her  children  walking  in  the  truth,  and 
it  rejoiced  his  heart. 

He  writes,  (i)  to  exhort  the  Lady  (Kyria)  to 
steadfastness  in  love  and  obedience  (vers.  5,  6).  The 
phrase  "love  one  another"  is  characteristic  of  John 
(i  John  iii:  11),  as  is  also  love  to  God  (i  John  iv: 
21).  This  is  no  new  commandment,  but  one  had  from 
the  beginning.  He  defines  more  exactly  what  he  means 
by  love — "And  this  is  love,  that  we  should  walk  after 
his  commandments."  Walk  denotes  the  daily  life.  It 
includes  the  temper  of  mind  and  the  external  deport- 
ment which  go  to  make  up  character.  The  Christian 
walk  is  to  be  the  constant  exercise  of  love,  obedience, 
steadfastness  and  patience. 

He  writes  (2),  to  warn  her  against  false  teachers 
and  false  doctrine  (vers.  7,  8).  Many  deceivers  were 
abroad,  men  who  rejected  the  blessed  hope  of  the 
Lord's  coming  in  visible  glory  and  power.  In  i  John 
iv:  3  the  apostle  brands  every  "spirit"  that  rejects  the 
great  truth  of  the  incarnation  ("Jesus  Christ  is  come 


122  SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

in  the  fiesh")  as  Antichrist.  Here  in  2  John  the 
solemn  charge  is  that  whoever  does  "not  confess  that 
Christ  cometh  in  the  flesh  is  a  deceiver  and  an  anti- 
christ." The  great  adversary,  Antichrist,  when  he 
shall  appear,  will  be  both — a  false  Christ,  a  mock  Mes- 
siah— but  also  a  malignant  and  determined  foe  of 
Christ.  He  who  denies  the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  a 
deceiver  of  himself  and  of  the  people  who  heed  his 
teaching,  but  he  is  likewise  a  foe  of  Christ  and  him- 
self a  false  Christ. 

The  false  teachers  are  further  described  in  ver.  9: 
''Whosoever  goeth  onward  and  abideth  not  in  the 
teaching  of  Christ,  hath  not  God."  They  are  those 
who  forsake  the  old  paths,  who  go  beyond  what  the 
Lord  has  taught,  who  give  up  much  of  the  Gospel,  or 
who  declare  that  it  is  no  longer  adapted  to  "the 
modern  man."  They  are  the  advanced  thinkers,  the 
inventors  of  novelties,  the  patrons  of  the  spirits  of 
the  age.    There  is  a  vast  crop  of  them  on  earth  now. 

(3)  Warning  against  a  false  charity,  vers.  10,  1 1. 
Some  might  be  disposed  to  say,  "Well,  if  love  is  so 
noble  and  ennobling,  let  us  love  all  and  fellowship  all 
without  distinction  or  discrimination."  No,  John  re- 
plies ;  you  cannot  afford  to  fellowship  those  who  pro- 
pagate error  that  is  destructive,  for  if  you  do  you 
thereby  become  sharers  in  their  evil  works.  Separa- 
tion from  the  ungodly  and  repudiation  of  all  teachers 
of  bad  doctrine  is  John's  earnest  counsel. 


THIRD  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 

This  letter  is  addressed  to  the  "well-beloved  Gaius/* 
one  of  the  most  common  names  in  the  Roman  Empire 
in  those  ancient  days.  Four  with  this  name  of  Gaius 
are  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament — Gaius  of  Mace- 
donia (Acts  xix:  29);  Gaius  of  Corinth,  with  whom 
Paul  was  lodging  when  he  wrote  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans  (Rom.  xvi:  23)  ;  Gaius  of  Derbe  (Acts  xx: 
4)  ;  and  this  Gaius  whom  it  so  highly  commends. 
Whether  he  was  the  same  as  any  one  of  the  three 
mentioned  above  is  unknown.  The  following  matters 
in  the  epistle  are  worthy  of  careful  study: 

(i)  The  joy  of  apostles  and  ministers  over  the 
fidelity  and  the  steadfastness  of  their  converts  in  walk- 
ing in  the  truth  (vers.  2-4).  It  hurts,  it  wounds  us 
deeply  when  those  whom  we  have  tried  to  lead  into 
the  saving  acquaintance  with  Christ  go  back  and  walk 
no  more  with  us. 

(2)  Hospitality  praised  (vers.  5-8).  Gaius  had 
shown  his  love  and  generosity  in  the  entertainment 
which  he  extended  to  those  who  were  laboring  in  the 
cause  of  missions  and  in  the  noble  help  he  gave  them. 
The  missionaries  were  thoroughly  unselfish  and  self- 
sacrificing  in  their  good  work — "For  the  sake  of  the 
Name  they  went  forth,  taking  nothing  of  the  Gen- 
tiles." All  the  greater,  therefore,  was  the  need  that 
Christian  brethren  should  support  them.     Gaius  was 

123 


\124  THIRD    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN. 

one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  those  who  did  so.  It 
was  a  ''faithful  work  toward  them  that  are  brethren 
and  strangers  withal"  which  he  did,  and  it  was 
prompted  solely  by  love.  The  aged  John  commends 
him  in  the  highest  terms  and  sets  the  seal  of  divine 
approval  on  his  loving  hospitality. 

(3)  Denunciation  of  hierarchical  arrogance  and 
ecclesiastical  despotism  (vers.  9,  10).  Diotrephes 
acted  in  a  very  different  spirit.  He  loved  pre-emi* 
nence  in  the  church,  grasped  after  authority,  set  him- 
self against  the  apostle  himself  and  treated  him  with 
insolence  and  indignity,  refused  to  receive  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  prohibited  others  from  doing  so.  His 
conduct  is  denounced,  his  behavior  held  up  as  a  warn- 
ing to  all,  and  John  deals  with  him  according  to  his 
deserts.  How  hateful  to  the  inspired  writers  is  eccle- 
siastical tyranny,  the  arrogant  claim  of  lordship  over 
God's  heritage! 

(4)  A  good  man  cordially  commended  (vers.  11, 
12).  "Demetrius  hath  good  report  of  all,  and  of  the 
truth  itself."  The  witness  borne  to  his  goodness  was 
that  of  his  fellow-Christians.  "He  that  doeth  good  is 
of  God."  Demetrius  belongs  to  this  select  class.  "He 
that  doeth  evil  hath  not  seen  God."  Diothephes  must 
be  put  into  this  unhappy  class.  "Imitate  not  that 
which  is  evil,"  Diotrephes  and  his  company,  "but  that 
which  is  good,"  Demetrius  and  his  fellow-saints. 

These  two  short  epistles  give  us  some  insight  into 
the  membership  and  conditions  of  the  primitive 
church.  Christians  then  had  their  weaknesses  and 
their  imperfections  even  as  we;  they  had  also  those 


THIRD    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN.  125 

who  were  noble  and  true,  but  likewise  some  ignoble 
and  unworthy  members.  Some  were  generous  and 
self-sacrificing  in  the  highest  degree,  others  were  am- 
bitious and  self-seeking.  But  brotherly  love  was  the 
prevailing  feature  among  the  majority.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  individual  Christians  are  singled  out  and 
commended  or  condemned,  for  ecclesiasticism  had  not 
then  hardened  into  an  organism  in  which  the  individual 
was  swallowed  up,  the  huge  body  being  everything. 


EPISTLE  OF  JUDE 

The  writer  of  this  short  epistle  calls  himself  Jude, 
or  Judas.  His  name  was  a  very  common  one  among 
the  Jews:  there  was  hardly  another  of  more  frequent 
use.  Two  among  the  apostles  bore  it,  viz:  Judas, 
mentioned  in  John  xiv :  22 ;  cf .  Luke  vi :  16,  and  Judas 
Iscariot.  Jude  describes  himself  as  *'the  servant  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  brother  of  James."  The  James  here 
mentioned  is  no  doubt  the  same  called  "the  Lord's 
brother"  (Gal.  i:  19),  the  writer  of  the  epistle  which 
bears  his  name.  Neither  was  an  apostle.  Both  be- 
longed to  the  family  of  Joseph,  and  both  are  called 
the  Lord's  brethren.  In  Mark  vi :  3  the  sons  in 
Joseph's  family  are  James,  Joses,  Judas  and  Simon. 
Sisters  there  were  also,  but  they  are  not  named  nor 
their  number  given.  The  appellation  "servant  of 
Jesus  Christ,"  Alford  affirms,  "is  never  thus  barely 
used  in  an  address  of  an  epistle  to  designate  an  apos- 
tle." Phil,  i :  I  has  a  similar  expression,  "Paul  and 
Timothy,  servants  of  Jesus  Christ,"  "but  the  designa- 
tion common  to  two  persons  necessarily  sinks  to  the 
rank  of  the  inferior  one.  In  every  other  case  servant 
is  associated  with  apostle."  It  is  noteworthy  that 
neither  James  nor  Jude  hint  at  their  relationship  with 
Jesus ;  their  unaffected  humility  will  not  suffer  them  to 
do  so.  Jude  speaks  of  his  being  the  "brother  of 
James"  perhaps  to  give  authority  and  weight  to  his 

126 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  I27 

letter,  for  James  was  far  more  distinguished  and  in- 
fluential than  he. 

Both  Jude  and  James  pertained  to  the  family  of 
David.  An  early  historian,  Hegesippus  (c.  A.  D.  175- 
190),  records  that  two  of  Jude's  grandsons  were 
brought  before  the  Roman  Emperor  Domitian  toward 
the  close  of  the  first  century  and  were  questioned  by 
him  as  to  their  connection  with  the  house  of  David. 
They  told  the  Emperor  that  they  were  of  David's 
family,  which  obviously  identifies  the  household  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  with  the  royal  house  of  Israel's 
greatest  king.  Domitian  asked  them  about  their 
wealth.  They  said  they  had  some  money — 9,000  de- 
naries,  some  $1,500 — they  had  also  39  acres  of  land 
which  they  tilled  themselves,  and  as  proof  of  their  toil 
they  showed  the  august  ruler  their  rough  and  hardened 
hands.  The  Roman  asked  them  about  Christ  and  His 
Kingdom,  of  what  nature  it  would  be  and  when  it 
would  appear,  and  the  two  men  replied  that  it  would 
not  be  of  this  world  nor  earthly,  but  heavenly  and 
angelic,  and  that  it  would  appear  at  the  end  of  the 
age,  at  which  time  He  will  come  in  glory  and  judge 
the  living  and  the  dead,  and  will  give  to  each  one  ac- 
cording to  his  works.  The  Emperor  dismissed  them, 
despising  them  as  poor  men  without  influence  and 
without  power.  The  two  brothers  afterward  became 
leaders  in  the  church  because  they  had  stood  before 
the  Emperor  as  witnesses,  and  because  they  were  of 
the  family  of  the  Lord.  "This  Hegesippus  relates" 
(Eusebius). 

This  interesting  story  takes  us  back  into  the  first 


128  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

century,  about  the  year  A.  D.  90,  while  the  Apostle 
John  was  still  living,  and  Jude  their  grandfather  had 
passed  away  perhaps  less  than  twenty-five  years  be- 
fore. Two  facts  of  great  importance  are  established 
by  this  narrative:  First,  that  the  family  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  was  identified  with  the  royal  house  of 
David ;  no  one  raised  a  question  touching  the  reality 
of  such  relation.  Second,  that  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ  was  in  the  minds  of  Christians  generally  and  in 
the  minds  even  of  the  rulers  of  the  Empire  closely 
associated  with  the  throne  of  David. 

The  address  of  the  epistle  is  remarkable  for  the 
affection  Jude  expresses  for  these  saints.  He  speaks 
of  them  as  "called,"  "beloved  in  God  the  Father," 
"kept  for  Jesus  Christ"  (R.  V.).  He  wishes  mercy, 
peace  and  love  may  be  multiplied  to  them — a  prayer 
without  a  parallel  in  any  other  epistle  of  the  New 
Testament.  They  must  have  been  a  worthy  band,  a 
noble  and  trustworthy  company  of  believers,  to  merit 
such  an  address. 

The  design  of  the  epistle  is  indicated  very  distinctly 
in  ver.  3 :  "Beloved,  while  I  was  giving  all  diligence 
to  write  unto  you  of  our  common  salvation,  I  was 
constrained  to  write  unto  you  exhorting  you  to  con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  faith  which  was  once  for  all 
delivered  unto  the  saints."  Jude  in  these  words  clearly 
intimates  that  he  had  meditated  writing  at  length  on 
the  common  salvation,  perhaps  an  essay  or  a  treatise; 
but  the  solemn  and  urgent  necessity  pressed  upon  his 
heart  that  he  must  warn  Christians  of  the  dangers  that 
threatened  the  truth,  and  to  protest  against  the  evils 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  129 

and  the  evildoers  that  had  invaded  the  brotherhood. 
The  faith  was  in  jeopardy,  nay,  Christianity  itself. 
Every  loyal  soul  must  bestir  himself  to  the  uttermost. 
To  falter  in  the  presence  of  such  tremendous  perils  as 
Jude  describes  would  be  cowardly,  would  be  treason 
to  Christ.  And  so  Jude  urges  each  believer  to  con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  unto 
the  saints. 

Peter  vigorously  denounces  the  like  evils,  but  he 
speaks  of  them  as  undeveloped,  not  yet  fullgrown,  but 
sure  to  reach  a  fatal  maturity  (2  Peter  ii,  iii).  Jude 
represents  them  as  actually  present  and  as  doing  in- 
calculable injury.  Peter  sees  them  as  an  invading 
army,  the  advanced  guard  as  already  on  the  ground 
with  the  main  body  in  sight.  Jude  speaks  of  them 
as  enemies  who  are  already  within  the  sacred  camp 
and  doing  their  ruinous  work  in  all  parts  of  it. 
Peter  predicts  the  advent  of  these  foes  of  truth  in  the 
following  terms:  "Knowing  this  first,  that  in  the 
last  days  mockers  shall  come  with  mockery,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is  the  prom- 
ise of  his  coming?  for  from  the  day  that  the  fathers 
fell  asleep  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the 
beginning  of  the  creation"  (2  Peter  iii:  3,  4).  Jude 
appears  to  quote  this  prediction  and  to  affirm  that  it 
has  its  fulfilment  in  his  day:  "But  ye,  beloved,  re- 
member ye  the  words  which  have  been  spoken  before 
by  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  that  they 
said  unto  you.  In  the  last  times  there  shall  be  mockers, 
walking  after  their  own  ungodly  lusts"  (vers.  17,  18). 
There  is  an  almost  exact  parallel  between  the  two 
9 


I30  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

writers,  Peter  and  Jude,  in  the  two  passages.  The 
differences  between  them,  slight  as  they  are,  may  be 
accounted  for  by  Jude's  use  of  the  plural  apostles, 
thus  glancing  perhaps  at  the  like  words  of  Paul  in 
I  Tim.  iv:  i;  2  Tim.  iii:  iff.  There  seems  to  be  in- 
dicated here  that  the  predictions  both  of  Peter  and  of 
Paul  are  older  than  this  epistle  of  Jude,  and  that  Jude 
was  acquainted  with  both  and  had  them  in  mind  when 
he  wrote.  If  this  be  admitted,  the  inference  is  both 
legitimate  and  conclusive  that  Second  Peter  was  in 
existence  when  Jude  wrote,  and  that  he  received  it  as 
the  word  of  God,  a  true  prophecy  touching  the  Last 
Times.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the 
prophecies  of  neither  Peter  nor  Jude  are  to  be  tied 
up  to  the  times  when  they  lived  and  wrote,  nor  are 
their  writings  to  be  regarded  as  dealing  exclusively 
with  the  evils  then  existent.  They  do  indeed  apply  to 
prevailing  conditions  then,  but  both  writings  pertain 
to  the  church  in  all  its  history.  Whenever  like  condi- 
tions prevail  these  two  epistles  bear  their  solemn  and 
urgent  testimony  with  the  same  force  as  they  did 
when  first  written.  They  belong  to  the  age  in  which 
we  now  live;  they  will  find  their  full  accomplishment 
in  the  Last  Days  when  wickedness  will  be  at  the  flood. 
Jude  begins  with  the  statement  that  the  saints  are 
"preserved  in  Jesus  Christ."  He  ends  with  their 
presentation  as  "faultless  before  the  presence  of  his 
glory  with  exceeding  joy."  The  two  statements  dis- 
close the  theme  of  the  epistle,  viz.:  the  preservation 
and  presentation  of  the  saints.  They  are  "preserved," 
and  they  shall  be  "presented  without  blemish"  before 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  131] 

God's  glorious  presence.  There  can  be  no  presenta- 
tion of  them  in  glory  unless  they  are  safely  guarded 
by  God's  grace  and  power.  For,  as  already  indicated, 
the  epistle  contemplates  a  perilous  situation;  it  deals 
with  a  time  when  the  professing  body  is  filled  with 
men  of  the  loosest  morals,  of  the  most  flagrant  life, 
and  when  destructive  doctrines  are  taught  and  the 
wildest  errors  are  disseminated.  Against  these  cor- 
ruptors  and  skeptics  Jude  writes  with  a  vehemence 
that  in  the  New  Testament  is  without  parallel.  His 
denunciations  are  terrific.  The  character  and  doom 
he  assigns  to  them  are  appalling.  Matters  have  come 
to  a  dreadful  pass  when  the  Spirit  of  God  is  compelled 
to  use  such  stern  and  awful  language.  Let  us  note 
what  he  says  of  them.  The  character  given  them  is 
as  bad  and  black  as  it  can  well  be. 

Description  of  the  Apostates. 

I.  They  are  surreptitious  foes.  "For  there  are  cer- 
tain men  crept  in  unawares — ungodly  men"  (ver.  4). 
The  language  points  to  their  stealthy  and  insidious 
entrance  into  the  Christian  Brotherhood.  Like  a  ser- 
pent, like  a  cunning  beast  of  prey,  these  ungodly  men 
creep  into  the  company  of  the  godly.  Peter  represents 
them  as  "false  teachers  who  privily  shall  bring  in 
damnable  (destructive)  heresies"  (2  Peter  ii:  i). 
Paul  also  employs  very  similar  terms  as  to  the  false 
teachers  among  the  Galatians — "false  brethren  un- 
awares brought  in,  who  came  in  privily  to  spy  out  our 
liberty"  (Gal.  ii:  4).    In  every  case  they  are  men  who 


132  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

are  within  the  Christian  church  as  enemies  who  feign 
to  be  friends,  therefore  in  reaHty  spies  and  traitors. 

2.  They  are  perverters  of  grace  and  deniers  of 
Christ — "turning  the  grace  of  God  into  lasciviousness, 
and  denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  (ver.  4).  They  are  those  who  by  a  vile  per- 
versity turn  the  liberty  and  the  grace  of  the  Gospel  Into 
a  means  of  gratifying  their  base  and  unholy  passions, 
and  who  thereby,  both  in  doctrine  and  life,  deny  their 
Master  and  Lord. 

3.  They  are  censorious  and  arrogant  detractors: 
"Dreamers  who  despise  dominion  and  speak  evil  of 
dignities"  (ver.  8).  Destitute  of  true  reverence,  they 
rail  at  the  holiest  and  the  best  things,  and  pronounce 
judgment  on  all  authority  and  all  rule.  Defiant  like 
Pharaoh,  they  say,  "Who  Is  the  Lord  that  I  should 
hearken  to  his  voice?"  (Ex.  v:  2).  They  have  the 
proud  tongue  of  the  lawless :  "Our  lips  are  our  own : 
who  is  lord  over  us?"  (Psalms  xil:  4). 

4.  Ignorant  calumniators  they  are,  and  brutish  sen- 
sualists; "But  these  speak  evil  of  those  things  which 
they  know  not :  but  what  they  know  naturally  as  brute 
beasts,  In  those  things  they  corrupt  themselves"  (ver. 
10).  What  they  do  not  know  nor  understand,  as 
something  lofty  and  noble,  they  deride  and  denounce; 
what  they  know  is  that  which  ministers  to  their  dis- 
ordered appetites  and  their  debased  tastes. 

5.  They  are  hypocrites  and  deceivers,  whose  lives 
are  fruitless,  and  whose  presence  among  Christians  is 
contaminating  (vers.  12,  13)  :  "These  are  they  who 
are  hidden  rocks  in  your  love-feasts  when  they  feast 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  133 

with  you,  shepherds  that  without  fear  feed  themselves ; 
clouds  without  water,  carried  along  by  winds ;  autumn 
trees  without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the 
roots;  wild  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own 
shame;  wandering  stars,  for  whom  the  blackness  of 
darkness  hath  been  reserved  forever"  (R.  V.).  This 
is  terrific  but  most  graphic  language.  The  imagery  is 
most  vivid ;  one  can  see  these  insincere,  depraved  pro- 
fessors as  if  they  stood  before  him  in  flesh  and  blood. 
Their  character  and  their  wicked  behavior  are  made 
visible;  like  sunken  reefs  they  wreck  the  noblest  and 
purest  lives;  like  clouds  that  promise  much  but  for- 
ever disappoint;  like  trees  with  withered  fruit,  leaf- 
less, dead  and  unprotected ;  like  the  raging  sea,  they 
cast  out  only  their  acts  of  shame;  like  meteors  that 
stray  through  the  sky  at  random  and  without  law,  and 
go  out  at  last  into  a  night  that  knows  no  morning — 
such  their  character  and  doom. 

6.  They  are  grumblers,  faultfinders,  pleasure-seek- 
ers, boasters,  parasites :  "These  are  murmurers,  com- 
plainers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts;  and  their 
mouth  speaketh  great  swelling  words,  having  men's 
persons  in  admiration  because  of  advantage"  (ver.  16). 
They  find  fault  with  the  authority  of  every  sort,  hu- 
man and  divine;  they  are  dissatisfied  with  their  lot, 
with  circumstances,  with  Providence;  they  boast  that 
they  could  manage  things  better  themselves;  and  yet 
they  can  be  servile,  sycophantic  when  thereby  advan- 
tage is  secured. 

7.  They  are  schismatics  and  sensualists :  "These  be 
they  who  separate  themselves,  sensual,  having  not  the 
Spirit"  (ver.  19). 


134  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

Such  is  the  forbidding  portrait  which  Jude  draws  of 
the  ungodly.  But  he  adds  other  traits  and  features 
which  must  be  noted  if  we  are  to  have  a  complete  con- 
ception of  the  situation.  He  furnishes  a  number  of 
examples  of  apostates  and  of  apostasy  which  disclose 
even  more  strikingly  the  spirit  and  end  of  them  that 
pervert  and  corrupt  the  truth,  that  deny  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  mock  at  the  things  of  God. 
These  are  marks  of  a  fatal  degeneracy,  tokens  of  the 
"falling  away"  which  prepares  the  way  for  the  rev- 
elation of  the  man  of  sin  and  son  of  perdition  whose 
destruction  Christ  Himself  accomplishes  at  His  com- 
ing (2  Thess.  ii).    To  these  seven  marks  we  now  turn. 

(i)  Unbelief.  "I  will  therefore  put  you  in  remem- 
brance, though  ye  once  knew  this,  how  that  the  Lord, 
having  saved  the  people  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
afterward  destroyed  them  that  believed  not"  (ver.  5). 
Unbelieving  Israel,  though  redeemed  from  bondage  by 
almighty  power,  afterward  fell  beneath  the  judgment 
of  God.  By  their  distrust  and  disobedience  they  pro- 
'voked  the  Lord  to  anger,  so  that  He  sware  in  His 
wrath,  They  shall  not  enter  into  my  rest  (Heb.  iii:  11 ; 
cf.  Psalm  xcv:  11).  Unbelief  is  deadly.  Luther 
said  strongly  bui  not  too  strongly,  "Nothing  damns 
but  unbelief."  Let  the  saints  remember  the  mournful 
example  of  faithless  Israel,  and  hold  fast  their  trust 
in  the  living  God.  "Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  haply 
there  shall  be  in  any  one  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbe- 
lief, in  falling  away  from  the  living  God"  (Heb. 
iii:  12). 

(2)  Pride.     "And  the  angels  which  kept  not  their 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  135 

9 

first  estate  (their  own  principality),  but  left  their  own 
habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  un- 
der darkness  unto  judgment  of  the  great  day"  (ver.  6). 
The  fall  of  the  angels  is  involved  in  profound  mystery. 
Peter  seems  to  teach  that  they  fell  when  they  were  still 
dwelling  in  heaven:  "For  if  God  spared  not  the 
angels  when  they  sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  hell, 
and  committed  them  to  pits  of  darkness" — .They  were 
cast  down  because  they  sinned  even  in  His  glorious 
presence  (2  Peter  ii:  4).  Jude  alludes  to  the  same 
fact  in  the  expression,  ''Kept  not  their  first  estate,  but 
left  their  own  habitation,"  i.  e.,  they  deliberately  apos- 
tated  from  the  blessed  state  and  place  in  which  they 
had  been  placed  by  creative  power.  They  were  once 
innocent,  but  they  sinned  against  God  and  were  ex- 
pelled from  their  habitation.  Paul  teaches  that  it  was 
through  pride  Satan  fell  under  condemnation  (i  Tim. 
iii:  6).  Pride,  ambition,  rebellion,  and  then  expul- 
sion from  the  lofty  habitation — this  appears  to  be  the 
brief  history  of  the  angelic  apostasy.  They  are  now 
felon  outcasts  with  a  doom  far  more  terrible  awaiting 
them  in  the  future. 

Serious  error  is  sometimes  taught  concerning  the 
fall  of  the  angels.  The  cause  of  it,  we  are  told,  was 
their  sin  with  women,  and  Gen.  vi:  2,  4  is  cited  in 
proof — "The  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men 
that  they  were  fair;  and  they  took  them  wives  of  all 
which  they  chose."  Jude  7  is  supposed  to  lend  support 
to  this  view:  "Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and 
the  cities  about  them,  in  like  manner  giving  them- 
selves over  to  fornication,  and  going  after  strange 


136  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

flesh,  are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suffering  the  ven- 
geance of  eternal  fire."    Against  this  appHcation  of  the 
two  passages  in  Genesis  and  Jude  very  strong  and 
conclusive  objections  may  be  urged,     (a)   "Sons  of 
God"  may  mean  angels;  the  expression  probably  does 
in  Job  i :  6 ;  xxxviii :  7.     But  in  every  instance  where 
it  is  thus  used  it  designates  good  angels,  unfallen  be- 
ings.    Even  in  Job  i :   6   Satan   is   carefully  distin- 
guished from  the  "sons  of  God;"  he  is  not  identified 
with  them,  he  only  appears  "among  them."    Not  once 
in  all  the  Bible  are  Satan  and  his  hosts  called  "sons  of 
God"  (cf .  2  Cor.  iv :  4 ;  Eph.  ii :  2 ;  vi :  12 ;  Rev.  xii :  9 ; 
XX :  2,  etc.).     The  Devil  is  always  the  Devil,  and  so 
are  demons  always  demons ;  they  are  not  named  "sons 
of  God."    If  therefore  these  "sons  of  God"  represent 
unfallen  angels,  they  could  not  be  guilty  of  such  a 
crime  as  is  alleged;  if  demons  are  meant  by  the  title, 
they  could  not  possibly  be  called  God's  sons,     (b)  If 
the   good   angels    are   meant,   they   could   not   marry 
women  of  our  race  and  have  offspring  by  them,  for 
these  angels  are  sexless  according  to  Jesus'  teaching: 
"But  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them  (Sadducees), 
Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures  nor  the  power 
of  God.     For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry 
nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  in 
heaven"   (Matt,  xxii :  29,  30).     Like  the  angels  the 
"sons  of  the  resurrection"  are  immortal,  they  are  for- 
ever  free  from  the  limitations  and  passions  of  the 
earthly  life,  and  are  like  the  angels,  in  that  procreation 
and  family  relationships  have  forever  ended,     (c)  If 
fallen  angels  are  meant,  then  we  are  confronted  with 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  I37 

this  immense  difficulty:  Demons  are  spirits;  how 
could  such  beings  take  women  of  our  race  as  wives, 
and  how  could  they  have  offspring  by  them?  It  may 
be  alleged  that  they  assumed  human  bodies  and  so 
could  become  husbands  of  the  daughters  of  men.  But 
there  is  no  hint  in  Scripture  that  they  have  ever  done 
so.  In  fact,  they  are  never  represented  as  appearing 
in  human  bodies.  Demoniacal  possession  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent thing ;  in  it  there  is  no  assumption  of  a  body  at 
all.  Demons  seek  to  enter  bodies,  even  those  of  ani- 
mals (Luke  viii:  32),  but  they  never  become  incarnate. 
Besides,  to  do  this  would  require  a  miracle  such  as 
evil  spirits  could  by  no  possibility  work.  God  alone 
could  effect  so  mighty  a  transformation.  But  is  it  con- 
ceivable that  the  Holy  One  who  cannot  connive  at 
sin  would  lend  His  power  to  effect  so  vile  a  deed? 
(d)  The  children  of  these  unholy  alliances  are  called 
men  (Gen.  vi:  4).  They  are  likewise  called  Giants, 
but  the  Giants  in  Scripture  are  kings,  rulers,  war- 
riors (Num.  xiii:  33;  Deut.  ii:  10,  1 1,21;  iii:  11).  If 
they  had  been  the  offspring  of  demons  and  women, 
they  would  have  been  neither  the  one  nor  the  other, 
but  an  unnatural  grotesque  mixture  of  the  two — 
monsters,  like  the  fabled  Centaur  and  Cecrops  of 
Greek  Mythology,  (e)  The  statement  in  Jude  6,  7 
does  not  necessarily  require  that  the  sin  of  the  angels 
was  the  same  as  that  of  Sodom,  but  only  that  in  both 
cases,  that  of  the  angels  and  this  of  Sodom,  there  was 
apostasy  from  God  and  deserved  punishment  on  ac- 
count of  it.  (f)  "Sons  of  God"  denotes,  as  a  phrase, 
not  the  angels  at  all,  but  the  pious  Sethites,  while  the 


138  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

"daughters  of  men"  are  the  descendants  of  wicked 
Cain.  AlHance  between  these  two  distinct  bodies,  the 
religious  and  the  irrehgious,  the  people  of  God  and  the 
people  of  the  world,  leads  inevitably  to  degeneracy  and 
moral  corruption,  and  ultimately  to  apostasy.  This 
is  precisely  Jude's  theme,  the  peril  against  which  he 
so  urgently  warns.  God's  servants  were  called  in  the 
Old  Testament  times  "sons  of  God"  (cf.  Hos.  i:  10). 

(3)  Lust,  "Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the 
cities  about  them,  in  like  manner  giving  themselves 
over  to  fornication  and  going  after  strange  flesh,  are 
set  forth  as  an  example,  suffering  the  punishment  of 
eternal  fire"  (ver.  7).  These  two  infamous  places 
give  the  name  to  an  infamous  crime.  So  infectious 
and  so  widespread  was  the  moral  taint  of  Sodom  that 
Lot's  family,  in  spite  of  his  righteous  testimony 
against  it,  was  smitten  with  it  and  his  daughters  be- 
came the  authors  of  one  of  the  blackest  deeds  re- 
corded in  the  Old  Testament. 

(4)  Vituperation,  vers.  8-10.  "Likewise  also  these 
filthy  dreamers  defile  the  flesh,  despise  dominion,  and 
speak  evil  of  dignities,"  etc.  Michael  the  Archangel 
is  adduced  as  a  witness  against  these  caluminators. 
In  his  contention  with  the  devil  Michael  durst  not 
bring  a  railing  accusation  against  him;  he  only  said, 
The  Lord  rebuke  thee.  By  reason  of  his  exalted  dig- 
nity he  might  have  denounced  the  slanderer  in  the 
sternest  language.  For  he  is  "the  archangel,"  a  title 
that  denotes  the  highest  angelic  rank.  Only  in  one 
other  place  in  the  Bible  is  tliis  great  name,  archangel, 
found,  I  Thess.  iv:  16.    It  occurs  in  the  singular  num- 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  139 

ber,  never  in  the  plural,  whence  the  inference  is  drawn 
that  there  is  but  one  such  angel.  In  Daniel  x:  13  he 
is  called  "one  of  the  chief  princes,"  and  in  ver.  21  of 
the  same  chapter  "Michael  your  prince,"  as  if  he 
stood  in  some  intimate  and  peculiar  relation  to  Israel. 
In  Rev.  xii:  7-9  he  is  described  as  the  leader  of  the 
heavenly  host  against  the  Dragon  and  his  army.  All 
this  indicates  the  illustrious  station  he  holds.  And 
yet,  great  as  Michael  is,  he  durst  not  bring  a  railing  of 
judgment  against  the  devil.  Why  "durst  not?"  Be- 
cause even  the  loftiest  angel  cannot  pass  final  judg- 
ment on  even  such  an  accuser  as  the  devil.  What  an 
example  he  is  to  men  in  the  proper  use  of  speech  and 
in  the  government  of  the  tongue! 

The  altercation  was  about  the  "body  of  Moses." 
The  reference  is  mysterious.  Just  what  is  meant,  or 
to  what  Jude  alludes,  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  de- 
termine. It  is  unlikely  that  it  is  the  same  contention 
mentioned  in  Zech.  iii :  if — the  dispute  as  to  Joshua 
the  high  priest,  for  the  differences  between  that  and 
this  are  quite  marked.  Nor  was  it  about  Moses'  bury- 
ing-place,  for  the  Hebrews  were  never  guilty  of  an- 
cestral worship,  nor  of  devotions  at  the  tombs  of  their 
illustrious  dead.  That  idolatrous  custom  lies  at  the 
door  of  Gentiles.  Nor  was  it  a  dispute  as  to  whether 
Moses'  body  should  have  a  burial  at  all.  For  the 
record  tells  us  that  "he  buried  him  in  the  valley  in 
the  land  of  Moab  over  against  Beth-peor :  but  no 
man  knoweth  of  his  sepulchre  unto  this  day"  (Deut. 
xxxiv:  6).  Neither  angel  nor  demon  could  challenge 
such  authority  as  this.  The  Lord  superintended  the 
sepulture  of  His  servant. 


I40  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

We  believe  that  Jude  refers  to  Moses'  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  Together  with  the  prophet  EHjah, 
Moses  appeared  "in  glory"  at  the  Lord's  Transfigura- 
tion, and  the  two  heavenly  visitants  talked  with  Jesus 
of  His  decease  He  was  shortly  to  accomplish  at  Jeru- 
salem. The  two  were  living  men,  visible,  for  they  ap- 
peared; audible,  for  they  were  speaking  with  Him; 
recognisable,  for  they  appeared  in  glory — language 
which  plainly  indicates  that  the  two  had  bodily  forms. 
Elijah  certainly  had  his  body,  for  he  had  never  passed 
through  the  gates  of  death.  Moses  had  died,  but  God 
closed  his  eyes  and  hid  his  body  from  mortal  sight 
and  kept  it  safe  till  he  should  appear  in  the  glorious 
scene  on  the  Mount.  It  is  our  belief  that  it  was  then 
Moses  was  raised  up  from  the  grave.  It  may  have 
been  that  the  devil  resisted  his  resurrection,  and  that 
he  sought  to  prevent  it,  while  Alichael,  the  prince  who 
stands  for  Israel,  vindicated  the  Lord's  dealing  with 
Moses  and  besought  Him  to  rebuke  the  accuser. 
"These  dreamers"  speak  evil  of  those  things  which 
they  know  not;  Michael  knows,  yet  tempers  speech 
with  a  wise  caution.  A  notable  example  of  self-con- 
trol. 

(5)  Hatred.  "Woe  unto  them!  for  they  have  gone 
in  the  way  of  Cain."  He  was  the  first  murderer,  a 
wretched  fratricide.  John  says,  Cain  was  of  the  evil 
one,  and  slew  his  brother  because  his  works  were  evil, 
and  his  brother's  righteousness  (i  John  iii:  12).  Hate 
lies  hard  by  railing,  vituperation.  Accordingly,  a 
malignancy  that  is  murderous  reigns  in  the  hearts  of 
these  apostates.     If  they  offer  sacrifice,  it  is  that  of 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  141 

Cain;  if  a  saint  nearby  them  is  righteous  and  worships 
acceptably,  they  are  ready  to  murder  him  in  their 
deadly  jealousy  and  hate. 

(6)  Greed.  "And  ran  greedily  after  the  error  of 
Balaam  for  reward."  Three  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  Balaam  mentioned,  and  in  each  case  with  un- 
sparing condemnation.  Peter  speaks  of  him  as  one 
who  ''loved  the  wages  of  unrighteousness"  (2  Peter 
ii:  15).  John  charges  him  with  having  "taught  Balak 
to  cast  a  stumbling-block  before  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols  and  to  commit 
fornication"  (Rev.  ii:  14).  And  Jude  says  he  "ran 
greedily  after  reward,"  his  chief  error.  Balak's  gold 
had  an  irresistible  attraction  for  him,  and  have  it  he 
would  even  if  the  angel  of  the  Lord  should  bar  his 
way  with  drawn  sword.  He  is  an  instance  of  light 
resisted,  conscience  perverted,  of  crime  added  to 
crime.  What  a  picture  all  this  furnishes  of  the  temper 
and  the  spirit  of  the  apostates! 

(7)  Rebellion.  "Perished  in  the  gainsaying  of 
Korah"  (vers.  11).  The  rebellion  of  Korah  and  his 
company  is  recorded  in  Num.  xvi.  Llis  gainsaying 
was  his  denial  and  repudiation  of  the  leadership  of 
Moses  and  Aaron  and  rebellion  against  their  authority. 
But  this  was  rebellion  against  God  who  had  appointed 
these  two  men  to  their  high  office,  and  accordingly 
the  Lord  Himself  dealt  directly  with  the  rebels :  earth, 
like  an  enraged  animal,  swallowed  them  alive,  a  most 
uncommon  punishment.  Likewise  the  apostates  of 
Jude's  epistle  despise  dominions,  scoff  at  constituted 
authority,  and  would  exalt  themselves  into  the  seats 
of  dignity  and  power. 


142  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

Such  is  the  dreadful  picture  which  the  inspired  pen 
of  Jude  draws  of  the  ungodly  and  the  apostate.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  he  employs  the  sternest  words 
about  them,  words  that  fairly  burn  in  their  intensity  of 
abhorrence :  "These  are  they  who  are  hidden  rocks  in 
your  lovefeasts" — rocks  on  which  the  church  is  in  dan- 
ger of  shipwreck  and  destruction:  "shepherds"  who 
devour  the  flock;  waterless  clouds,  whirled  about  by 
fierce  winds;  fruitless  trees,  uprooted  trees;  wild 
waves  of  the  sea  which  cast  up  only  mire  and  dirt — 
their  own  shame;  lawless  meteors  that  dart  through 
the  sky,  then  go  out  into  a  darkness  which  shall  never 
know  any  light. 

Jude  pronounces  their  doom  in  the  words  of  Enoch, 
"the  seventh  from  Adam" :  "Behold,  the  Lord  cometh 
with  ten  thousands  of  his  saints,  to  execute  judgment 
upon  all ;  and  to  convince  all  that  are  ungodly  among 
them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which  they  have  un- 
godly committed,  and  of  all  their  hard  speeches  which 
ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against  him."  It  is  gen- 
erally believed  by  modern  interpreters  that  this  proph- 
ecy of  Enoch  is  quoted  by  Jude  from  the  apocryphal 
book  of  Enoch,  part  of  which  was  written  before  the 
Christian  era  and  part  of  it  after  that  time.  Granting 
such  quotation,  that  fact  does  not  warrant  us  to 
affirm  that  Jude  endorsed  the  book.  Paul  cites  from 
three  Greek  poets:  from  Aratus  (Acts  xvii:  28) ;  from 
Meander  (i  Cor.  xv:  33);  and  from  Epimenides 
(Tit.  i:  12).  Does  anyone  imagine  that  Paul  en- 
dorses all  these  poets  wrote?  So  Jude  cites  a  passage 
from  a  non-canonical  book  not  because  he  accepts  it  as 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  143 

Scripture,  but  because  this  particular  prediction  found 
in  it  is  from  God  and  therefore  true.  In  Hke  manner 
Paul  quotes  a  verse  from  Epimenedes  and  adds,  **This 
testimony  is  true  (Tit.  i:  13),  but  no  one  would  be  so 
foolish  as  to  conclude  that  Paul  means  the  whole  poem 
is  true.  Whence  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Enoch  de- 
rived the  prediction  is  unknown.  It  may  have  been 
preserved  as  a  tradition  and  faithfully  transmitted 
from  generation  to  generation,  or  in  some  other  way 
preserved.  But  no  one  who  accepts  the  Bible  as  the 
word  of  God  doubts  its  genuineness  and  truthfulness 
any  more  than  he  doubts  Paul's  quotation  from  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  Acts  xx :  35,  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive,"  though  whence  he  derived  the  pre- 
cious saying  is  utterly  unknown. 

The  depraved  men  of  whom  Jude  writes  were 
found  in  the  professing  body.  They  called  themselves 
Christians,  no  doubt,  and  they  sought  to  be  recognized 
as  such  by  the  children  of  God.  But  in  this  short  epis- 
tle the  Spirit  God  brands  them  as  enemies  and  apos- 
tates. "No  prophecy  is  of  private  interpretation" 
(2  Peter  i:  20).  That  is  to  say,  the  prophecies  of  the 
Bible  do  not  originate  with  the  prophets,  nor  are  they 
to  be  tied  up  to  their  times  and  conditions,  nor  are 
they  exhausted  with  themselves  and  their  contempo- 
raries. A  prediction  may  be  occasioned  by  conditions 
existing  at  the  time  of  the  prophet,  but  it  is  not  nec- 
essarily limited  to  his  day  and  his  circumstances. 
Often  indeed  it  starts  from  a  point  near  the  prophet 
himself,  but  its  ultimate  and  complete  fulfilment  may 
be  in  the  distant  future,  the  time  of  the  End  and  the 


144  EPISTLE    OF    JUDE. 

Coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  can  scarcely  be 
doubted  but  that  this  is  the  characteristic  phase  of 
Jude's  prophecy.  Enoch's  prediction  makes  it  certain. 
No  doubt  the  conditions  of  his  day  were  as  he  so 
graphically  describes  them.  But  his  message  must  not 
be  confined  to  these.  Jude  deals  with  the  final  apos- 
tasy from  the  faith  of  Christ,  of  which  Paul  likewise 
speaks  in  2  Thess.  ii :  3 :  "It  will  not  be  except  the 
falling  away  come  first,  and  the  man  of  sin  be  revealed, 
the  son  of  perdition."  Peter  also  bears  witness  to  the 
same  awful  fact:  "Knowing  this  first,  that  in  the  last 
days  mockers  shall  come  with  mockery,  walking  after 
their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is  the  promise  of 
his  coming?  for  from  the  day  that  the  fathers  fell 
asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation."  The  "last  days"  obviously 
point  to  the  time  of  the  End,  the  final  consummation 
when  our  Lord  shall  return  in  majesty  and  great  glory 
to  judge  the  earth  in  righteousness. 

The  time  of  the  "falling  away"  will  be  one  of 
dreadful  wickedness,  of  unbridled  lawlessness,  of  the 
sway  of  the  worst  passions  of  our  fallen  humanity,  and 
of  colossal  crimes.  So  both  Peter  and  Jude  picture 
it ;  so  does  Paul,  and  so  do  John  in  the  Revelation  and 
Daniel  in  his  prophecies.  Every  thoughtful,  believ- 
ing man  who  sees  with  clear  vision  the  evil  principles 
now  at  work  in  human  society,  and  who  reads  pro- 
phetic Scripture  with  the  open  eye  and  mind,  must 
feel  profoundly  that  the  "falling  away"  is  near  at 
hand  if  indeed  it  has  not  already  set  in.  The  tenden- 
cies of  the  times  indicate  a  breaking  away  from  the 


EPISTLE    OF    JUDE.  145 

authority  of  the  Bible  and  a  change  of  attitude  as  to 
truth  for  v/hich  the  Christian  Church  has  stood  dur- 
ing the  centuries  of  its  witness-bearing.  The  outcome 
of  these  tendencies  Scripture  leaves  us  in  no  doubt 
about — revolt  against  the  authority  of  God,  the  mani- 
festation of  the  Man  of  Sin,  and  the  Advent  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  judgment  and  the  establishment  of  His  own 
glorious  Kingdom.  It  should  be  the  supreme  duty  of 
every  believer  in  Christ  to  heed  faithfully  the  exhorta- 
tion of  Jude  to  "contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which 

was  once  for  all  delivered  unto  the  saints." 
10 


STUDIES 


IN   THE 


Book  of  Revelation 


"  Other  men  laboured,  and  ye  are  entered  into 
their  labours  " 


V  BY 


WILLIAM  G.  MOOREHEAD,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  in  Xenia  Theological  Seminary 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming   H.   Revell    Company 
London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyrighted,  1908 

BY 

TH^  UNITED   PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF 
PUBI^ICATION 

Pittsburgh,    Pa. 


PREFACE 


This  little  book  is  not  a  commentary  on  the  Rev- 
elation; it  does  not  aspire  to  such  a  dignity.  It 
is  designed  to  be  just  what  its  title  announces — 
studies  in  the  Revelation.  For  years  the  writer  has 
deeply  felt  the  lack  of  a  satisfactory  analysis  of  this 
book  and  a  reasonable  and  helpful  solution  of  its 
mysterious  and  marvellous  structure.  Reading  it,  as 
he  has  done,  through  a  rather  long  life,  he  confesses 
he  saw  little  or  no  connection  between  the  various 
parts,  he  understood  nothing  scarcely  of  the  articula- 
tion of  its  Visions,  nor  saw  any  definite,  far-reaching 
plan  running  through  it  and  binding  its  strange  mem- 
bers into  a  harmonious  and  majestic  unity.  The 
studies  of  some  months  past,  rather  years,  have  served 
to  open  much  of  what  for  long  was  almost  sealed 
and  to  pour  light  into  many  a  dark  place.  The  chief 
aim  of  this  Study  is  to  help  the  reader  and  student  of 
the  Apocalypse  into  an  apprehension  of  the  plan  and 
the  design  of  this  great  Scripture.    Whether  the  writer 

iii 


iv  PREFACE. 

has  acnieved  this  aim  or  not  must  be  left  to  others  to 
judge. 

All  available  books  have  been  freely  used,  some  of 
which  have  proved  very  serviceable.  Grateful  acknow- 
ledgment is  here  made  of  the  clear  suggestions  and 
wise  criticisms  of  a  personal  friend,  Dr.  W.  J.  Erdman. 

William  G.  Moorehead. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

Preface iii 

I.  Authorship  and  Date 7 

II.  Symbolism i5 

III.  Systems  of  Interpretation  ....  20 

IV.  Plan  and  Structure 2.y 

V.  Analysis — Three  Forms 41 

VI.  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches  .     .  46 

VII.  Vision  of  Heaven  Opened   ....  58 

VIII.  Opening  of  the  Seven  Seals   ...  68 

IX.  The  Seven  Trumpets 7^ 

X.  The  Intercalated  Visions,  chaps,  xii, 

xiii,  xiv 89 

XL  The  Seven  Last  Plagues     .     .     .     .110 
XII.  Interposed      Explanatory      Visions, 

chaps,  xvii — xix:  10 116 

XIII.  Advent  of  Jesus   Christ,   chaps,   xix: 

II — XX :  6 130 

XIV.  Last  Revolt  and  Final  Judgment  .     .  144 
XV.  Vision  of  the  City  of  God  .     .     .     .148 

V 


THE   REVELATION 


CHAPTER   I. 
Authorship  and  Date. 

The  study  of  this  great  prophecy  is  entered  upon 
with  much  diffidence;  almost  with  hesitation.  Many 
regard  it  as  so  abstruse  and  obscure  that  any  satis- 
factory interpretation  of  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not 
hopeless.  Only  great  scholars  and  lifelong  students 
of  the  Bible  are  competent,  it  is  thought,  to  deal  with 
its  profound  mysteries,  and  even  these  are  often  baf- 
fled by  its  symbolism,  and  defeated  by  its  depths. 
Others  should  not  attempt  its  elucidation.  Such  is  the 
feeling  of  many. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties,  its  study  is  imposed 
on  all  Christians.  It  is  a  part  of  the  word  of  God.  It 
bears  the  name  and  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Its  august  title  is,  "  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ 
which  God  gave  to  him  to  show  unto  his  servants." 
It  is  an  Apocalypse,  an  unveiling  of  what  could  not 
be  otherwise  known.  It  is  for  the  instruction,  guid- 
ance, and  comfort  of  God's  people. 

The  prophet  Daniel  was  bidden  to  "  shut  up  the 
vision,"  to  "  shut  up  the  words,  and  seal  the  book,  even 

7 


8  THE  REVELATION. 

to  the  time  of  the  end"  (Dan.  viii:  26;  xii:  4,  9). 
But  our  Lord's  command  to  John  is :  "  What  thou 
seest,  write  in  a  book,  and  send  it  to  the  seven 
churches/'  i:  11.  The  instruction  of  the  revealing 
angel  to  the  Seer  when  he  is  bringing  the  mighty 
visions  of  the  prophecy  to  an  end  is,  "  Seal  not  up  the 
words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book ;  for  the  time  is  at 
hand,"  xxii :  10.  Explicitly  the  Saviour  declares,  "  I 
Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify  unto  you  these 
things  for  the  churches,"  xxii:  16.  The  Revelation, 
therefore,  is  for  the  whole  people  of  God ;  to  them  it  is 
an  unsealed  book,  and  it  is  intended  to  be  their  teacher 
and  their  guide  in  things  that  very  vitally  concern 
them. 

Furthermore,  a  special  blessing  is  promised  to  him 
who  reads  and  to  them  who  "  hear  the  words  of  the 
prophecy,  and  keep  the  things  that  are  written  there- 
in," i:  3.  The  public  reading  of  the  book  in  the 
assemblies  of  Christians  is  here  recognized,  which 
places  it  on  the  same  plane  with  the  other  books  of 
Scripture.  Its  Divine  Author  is  thus  at  pains  to 
exalt  its  importance,  to  commend  its  teachings,  and 
to  promise  a  rich  reward  for  its  study.  Among  the 
last  words  in  the  Bible  is  this  gracious  encourage- 
ment to  the  diligent  student  of  the  Apocalypse :  "  Be- 
hold, I  come  quickly;  blessed  is  he  that  keepeth  the 
words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,"  xxii :  7.  To 
keep  these  words  one  must  know  them ;  to  know  them 
one  must  ponder  them,  and  fill  his  mind  with  their  deep 
teachings.  They  make  a  grievous  mistake  who  look 
on    the    book    as    enigmatical,    incomprehensible;    or 


AUTHORSHIP  AND  DATE.  9 

who,  if  granting  it  may  be  in  measure  understood, 
stigmatize  it  as  impractical  and  profitless;  as  hav- 
ing little,  if  any,  bearing  on  the  believer's  life.  Let 
us  turn  to  the  book. 

I.  Who  was  its  penman?  Four  times  he  calls  him- 
self John,  i:  i,  4,  9;  xxii :  8.  There  is  no  descrip- 
tion of  him  beyond  his  name,  no  word  is  there  to  in- 
dicate what  John  it  was  to  whom  the  writing  of  the 
Apocalypse  was  committed.  But  it  is  not  difficult  to 
identify  him.  There  is  but  one  John  to  whom  we 
would  naturally  suppose  the  Lord  would  entrust  such 
a  work,  the  John  so  intimately  associated  with  Him 
during  His  earthly  ministry,  the  "  Beloved  Disciple," 
the  near  friend  of  Jesus;  John  the  apostle.  There  is 
scarcely  any  doubt  but  that  the  writer  was  this  John, 
or  one  who  sought  to  pass  for  him.  We  may  at  once 
put  aside  the  notion  of  fraud  or  imposture.  The 
spirit  of  holiness  and  truth  which  pervades  every  page 
of  the  book  is  incompatable  with  the  spirit  of  false- 
hood. The  internal  evidence  overwhelmingly  sup- 
ports this  view.  That  a  forger  should  write  such  a 
book  as  this  is  simply  incredible. 

Moreover,  the  unanimous  testimony  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  of  the  second  century  by  its  chief  teachers 
strengthens  this  conclusion.  But  few  witnesses  need  here 
be  introduced.  Justin  Martyr  (c.  A.  D.  150)  expressly 
affirms  that  John,  "  one  of  the  apostles  of  Christ,"  was 
the  writer  of  the  Revelation.  Justin  was  probably  born 
within  a  few  years  of  John's  death,  or  even  while  John 
was  living,  and  he  bore  this  witness  within  fifty  years 
of  John's  demise.    It  is  not  likely  Justin  could  be  mis- 


lO  THE  REVELATION. 

taken  touching  so  vital  a  matter,  nor  that  the  source 
of  his  information  was  not  thoroughly  trustworthy. 
Irenaeus  (c.  i8o)  apparently  never  heard  of  any  other 
than  John  the  apostle  as  the  writer.  Irenaeus'  testi- 
mony is  of  the  utmost  value,  for  he  was  "  the  grand- 
pupil  of  John,"  as  Dr.  Whedon  describes  him ;  he  was 
the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and  Polycarp  was  the  disciple 
of  John,  so  that  between  John  and  Irenaeus  there 
stands  but  one,  the  sainted  Polycarp,  Bishop  of 
Smyrna  and  martyr  of  Christ,  and  intimate  companion 
of  John  himself.  The  Muratori  Canon  (c.  A.  D.  170), 
Melito  of  Sardis  (c.  A.  D.  180),  Tertullian  the  great 
Latin  Father,  and  many  others  bear  the  like  witness 
to  the  genuineness  of  the  Apocalypse.  If  credence  is 
to  be  put  in  the  unanimous  testimony  of  antiquity,  if 
historical  evidence  is  worth  anything  in  deciding  a 
historical  date  and  the  authorship  of  a  book,  it  seems 
to  be  decided  by  unimpeachable  witnesses  that  the 
apostle  John  was  the  writer  of  this  book. 

But  why  does  John  suppress  his  name  in  the  Gospel 
and  in  the  epistles  and  record  it  here?  Because  the 
Revelation  is  pre-eminently  prophecy,  and  every  pro- 
phetic writing  is  authenticated  by  the  name  of  the 
prophet.  The  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  in- 
variably attach  their  names  to  their  books,  because 
their  names  are  a  guarantee  of  their  predictions.  John 
opens  the  Apocalypse  with  the  announcement  of  his 
own  name,  and  of  the  source  and  aim  of  his  pro- 
phecies, precisely  as  do  the  Old  Testament  prophets. 

II.  The  date  of  the  book  is  a  matter  of  almost  bit- 
ter controversy.    Two  widely  differing  dates  compete 


AUTHORSHIP  AND  DATE.  n 

for  the  mastery.  Each  characterizes  a  school  of  inter- 
preters, and  each  is  advocated  and  defended  with  great 
zeal,  and  in  some  instances  with  violence.  These  dates 
are,  respectively,  A.  D.  68,  and  A.  D.  95-6.  The  first 
affirms  that  the  book  was  written  when  Galba  was 
Emperor  of  Rome,  the  other  when  Domitian  was 
reigning.  The  adoption  of  either  of  these  dates  de- 
termines almost  exclusively  one's  interpretation  of  the 
book.  If  the  earlier  is  accepted  as  true,  then  one  of 
necessity  must  accept  what  is  commonly  known  as  the 
preterist  interpretation,  namely,  that  the  predictions 
contained  herein  had,  and  were  expected  to  have 
their  fulfilment  in  John's  own  time,  that  chaps  i-xix, 
particularly,  relate  to  the  persecutions  of  Nero,  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  dismemberment  of  the  Jewish 
nation  and  the  dispersion  of  Israel  among  the  nations 
of  the  world.  If  the  second  date  is  assumed  to  be  the 
correct  one,  then  the  Revelation  has  little  or  nothing 
to  do  with  the  events  referred  to,  for  it  lies  this  side 
of  them  by  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

A.  D.  68  is  advocated  by  many  writers  of  great 
learning  and  keen,  critical  acumen.  Historical  evi- 
dence for  it  there  is  none  till  centuries  after  the  book 
was  written.  The  first  writer  to  mention  an  early 
date  is  Epiphanius,  about  A.  D.  365,  but  his  statement 
is  of  no  value,  for  he  says  that  John  wrote  the  Apo- 
calypse in  the  reign  of  the  emperor  Claudius,  i.  e., 
about  A.  D.  50-54,  and  he  makes  the  incredible  asser- 
tion that  at  the  time  John  was  ninety  years  old, 
whereas,  in  point  of  fact  he  could  hardly  have  been 
above  fifty.     If  Epiphanius  had  named  Domitian  as 


12  THE  REVELATION. 

the  emperor,  he  would  have  been  in  exact  accord  with 
Irenaeus,  who  affirms  that  it  was  written  near  the  close 
of  Domitian's  reign,  i.  e.,  A.  D.  90-96,  at  which  time 
the  apostle  would  be  about  ninety.  Some  even  suppose 
that  Domitian  and  not  Claudius  is  meant,  but  the 
blunderer,  as  Epiphanius  is  known  to  be,  twice  wrote 
the  wrong  name.  He  is  the  only  witness  for  an  early 
date  among  the  primitive  writers,  and  his  testimony  is 
a  huge  mistake. 

A.  D.  68  rests  almost  exclusively  on  internal  evi- 
dence. Language  and  style  are  pressed  into  its  sup- 
port. Dionysius  of  Alexandria  (3d  cent.),  argued 
from  these,  that  he  who  wrote  the  Fourth  Gospel  and 
I  John  did  not  write  the  Revelation,  for  the  language 
and  style  employed  in  the  latter  forbid  the  belief  that 
its  author  also  wrote  the  other  books  ascribed  to 
John.  Dionysius  has  been  followed  by  multitudes 
since,  whose  main  argument  is,  John  may  have  written 
Revelation,  but  if  he  did  it  was  early  in  his  life,  when 
he  did  not  know  Greek  as  he  came  to  know  it  when  an 
older  man ;  and  so  he  may  have  written  this  book  at  68 
A.  D.,  and  the  Gospel  about  A.  D.  80-90.  We  may 
dismiss  the  point  without  further  remark. 

Chap,  xi:  i,  2,  8,  seems  to  affirm  that  Jerusalem 
was  standing  and  the  Temple  was  still  existing  when 
the  book  was  written.  But  it  may  as  conclusively 
be  affirmed  that  it  is  Jerusalem  rebuilt  and  reinhabited 
by  Hebrews,  as  that  the  Beast  and  the  two  witnesses 
of  the  same  chapter  have  never  yet  appeared  in  his- 
tory. Whedon  well  says,  "  The  use  of  Jerusalem  and 
temple   and   tribes   as   apocalyptic   symbols   no   more 


AUTHORSHIP  AND  DATE. 


13 


proves  the  literal  existence  of  the  city  than  the  de- 
scription of   Babylon  proves   that   that  great  capital 
then  existed  in  all  its  power  and  glory."    The  advocacy 
of  this  early  date  mainly  arises  out  of  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  book.     All  who  hold  it  teach  that  these 
prophecies   relate    to   events   near   John's   own   time, 
that  they  sprang  from  the  conditions  then  existing, 
and  are   addressed   to   his   contemporaries.     Accord- 
ingly, the  interpretation  governs  the  date,  and  then 
the  date  is  made  to  rule  the  interpretation,  a  vicious 
method  which  has  no  real  worth.     It  is  believed  that 
Nero  was  "  The  Beast,"  that  he  did  not  die  by  his 
own  hand,  but  that  he  was  almost  fatally  wounded,  but 
was  hidden  by  friends,  that  he  concealed  himself  in 
Parthia,  his  "  deadly  wound  "  being  healed,  and  that 
in  due  time  he  would  reappear  at  the  head  of  a  great 
army,   destroy  Rome,  annihilate  Christianity,  deliver 
Israel  from  all  foes,  glorify  Jerusalem,  and  become  the 
Antichrist,  the  mock  Messiah.     Such  was  the  vague 
rumor  floating  about  over  the  empire  about  A.  D. 
68,  and  John  accepted  it,  and  wrote  the  Apocalypse 
with    this    hypothesis    dominating    him.      The    seven 
heads  on  the  Beast  are  explained  to  signify  Roman 
Emperors,      viz.:      Augustus,      Tiberius,      Caligula, 
Claudius,   Nero,   the   "five    fallen"    (xvii:    10);   the 
sixth  is  Galba  ("  the  one  is  "),  and  the  seventh,  Galba*s 
successor,  was  to  be  Nero  restored,  the  Man  of  Sin, 
the   Antichrist.      Such    is    the    rationalistic    view    of 
Revelation,  and  it  is  supported  by  its   advocates  by 
vast  research  and  acute  reasoning. 

Now,  if  the  Apocalypse  was  actually  based  on  the 


14  THE  REVELATION. 

foundation  just  described,  then,  in  less  than  ten  years 
historical  events  and  facts  proved  the  book  to  be  totally 
mistaken,  false,  and  untrustworthy.  For  Nero  did 
not  reappear,  the  seventh  head  of  the  Beast  did  not 
become  Antichrist,  Rome  did  not  fall ;  instead,  Jeru- 
salem did,  and  Israel,  instead  of  being  delivered  and 
exalted,  went  into  an  exile  that  still  endures.  Could 
any  book,  specially  one  claiming  to  be  a  revelation 
from  God,  survive  such  an  overwhelming  defeat — 
such  utter  bankruptcy  of  its  essential  contents?  Yet 
the  book  lived,  and  has  continued  to  live  to  this  day. 
We  may  dismiss  both  the  hypothesis  and  the  date 
from  further  consideration.  Unhesitatingly  we  ac- 
cept Irenaeus'  date,  viz. :  near  the  close  of  Domitian's 
reign,  A.  D.  90-96.  Many  whose  judgment  on  this 
point  is  of  the  highest  worth  accept,  in  part,  or  wholly, 
this  date,  e.  g.,  Ramsay,  Orr,  Harnack,  Swete.  *'  Crit- 
ical opinion  appears  to  be  steadily  returning  to  the 
traditional  date,"  i.  e.,  90-96  (Purves). 


CHAPTER   II. 
Symbolism. 

III.  Symbolism.  Every  reader  is  impressed  with 
the  extraordinary  imagery  of  the  book.  Other  pro- 
phetic Scripture  exhibits  the  same  pecuHarity,  as 
Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Zechariah,  even  the  Penta- 
teuch has  it  in  some  degree.  But  this  is  a  book  of 
symbols;  a  series  of  gorgeous  pictures  which  begin 
with  the  opening  chapter  and  continue  to  the  end.  A 
marvellous  profusion  of  this  pictorial  representation 
characterizes  it.  Some  of  the  symbols  are  easily 
understood,  for  their  meaning  shines  through  the 
drapery  that  covers  the  great  thought,  but  others  are  , 
so  complex,  so  unearthly,  and  portentous  in  their 
vastness  and  mysteriousness  as  to  daze,  overwhelm  us. 
But  let  us  be  persuaded  of  this,  that  whether  we  can 
read  the  enigma,  the  deep  idea  hidden  in  the  symbol  or 
not,  the  idea  is  there  all  the  same,  and  it  is  the  supreme 
duty  of  the  expositor  to  toil  on  at  it  till  he  uncover 
its  meaning,  at  least  partially.  Let  some  features  of 
the  symbolism  be  noted : 

(a)  The  imagery  is  taken  from  the  Old  Testament. 
In  chap,  i,  the  dress  and  posture  of  the  glorified  Son 
of  Man,  the  candlesticks  amid  which  He  walks,  are 
from  the  Temple,  from  Israel's  high  priest,  and  from 
the  candlestick  of  the  sanctuary.  The  four  living 
creatures  of  chap,  iv  are  taken  from  the  Pentateuch 

15 


l6  THE  REVELATION. 

and  Ezekiel.  The  Beast  of  chap,  xlii  is  already  in 
Daniel  vii.  The  harvest  of  xiv:  14-16,  and  the  vintage 
of  xiv:  17-20  are  in  Joel  iii,  and  in  Zech.  xiv,  while 
the  last  worldwide  conflict,  xix,  is  described  in  Dan. 
vii,  xi,  xii ;  in  Zeph.,  in  Joel,  Zech.  and  Matt.  xxiv.  We 
might  go  on  to  see  that  the  Revelation,  as  a  whole, 
is  bound  up  with  the  earlier  prophetic  Scriptures  by  the 
closest  and  most  intimate  ties.  Indeed,  as  one  studies 
this  relation  of  the  two  Testaments  to  each  other  in 
type,  symbol,  language,  thoughts  and  expressions, 
he  is  profoundly  struck  with  the  unity  of  the  Bible, 
and  particularly  with  the  oneness  of  the  great  pro- 
phetic themes  of  the  holy  word. 

John  lays  all  Scripture  under  tribute,  and  draws 
from  it  much,  if  not  all  his  material.  Numbers  fur- 
nished by  another  may  serve  to  make  this  plain. 
Revelation  consists  of  404  verses,  of  which  265  verses 
contain  O.  T.  language,  while  there  are  550  refer- 
ences to  it  (Prof.  Swete  gives  278  verses).  The 
Greek  texts  of  Wescott  and  Hort,  and  of  Nestle,  ex- 
hibit its  use  of  the  O.  T.  by  printing  the  borrowed 
words  and  phrases  in  a  different  type.  On  a  single 
page  of  Nestle's  small  volume  no  less  than  twenty 
such  words  and  phrases  have  been  counted.  The 
Revelation  gathers  into  itself  the  imagery,  language, 
and  objects  of  the  older  prophecies,  and  to  know  the 
full  mind  of  the  Spirit  the  student  must  go  back  to  the 
source  for  light  and  guidance. 

All  this  shows  how  intimately  the  prophetic  parts 
of  the  Bible  are  united,  and  how  one  must  take  his 
principles  of  interpretation  from  the  whole  word  of 


SYMBOLISM. 


n 


God.  To  attempt  to  interpret  the  book  by  heathen 
customs  and  Gentil^  habits  and  history  is  fatal  to  the 
right  understanding  of  it.  It  is  strictly  Biblical;  it 
moves  within  the  circle  of  the  prophets  of  God;  it  is 
saturated  with  Hebrew  modes  of  thought,  and  is 
filled  and  thrilled  with  Hebrew  hopes  and  assurances. 
John  thinks  in  Hebrew,  writes  in  the  style  of  a  He- 
brew prophet,  and  speaks  with  the  authority  of  a  He- 
brew Seer. 

(b)  Progress  marks  Biblical  prophecy.  Daniel's  pre- 
dictions advance  beyond  those  of  Isaiah,  of  Joel,  and 
even  of  Ezekiel.  Zechariah  adds  features  to  the  grow- 
ing picture  of  the  End-time,  and  of  the  mighty  strug- 
gle between  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  kingdom  of 
Satan,  which  none  of  the  prophets  who  preceded  him 
have  foretold.  Jesus  in  the  Olivet  prophecy,  Matt,  xxiv, 
XXV,  Luke  xxi,  fills  into  it  details,  and  features,  and 
lines,  which  make  it  far  more  specific,  clear,  intelligible, 
and  graphic;  while  Paul,  in  2  Thess.,  with  a  few 
strokes  of  the  prophetic  pencil,  paints  the  Man  of  Sin 
so  vividly  and  so  frightfully,  as  that  the  monster 
when  he  comes  will  be  recognized  instantly  by  the 
people  of  God.  But  the  Apocalypse  crowns  the  whole 
prophetic  word  with  its  symbols  and  pictures,  its  ex- 
planations and  its  solemn  testimonies,  its  four  great 
series  of  sevens,  all  leading  to  the  consummation, 
to  the  Advent  and  the  Victory,  so  that  the  man  of 
God  is  furnished  an  infallible  guide  for  the  perilous 
times  that  are  fast  approaching 

While  the  Apocalypse  is  the  final  and  by  far  the 
fullest  revelation  of  the  "  Things  to  come,"  it  is  not 


l8  THE  REVELATION. 

an  independent  prophecy,  nor  is  it  disconnected  with 
the  earHer  disclosures  of  the  future  which  God  has 
been  pleased  to  give  us.  On  the  contrary,  the  book 
gathers  into  itself  all  that  precedes  it  in  the  same 
great  field,  but  adds  thereto,  and  unfolds,  and  reveals 
more  and  more,  till  the  colossal  portrait,  in  all  its 
awful  features,  stands  complete. 

With  two  great  prophecies  the  Revelation  is  most 
closely  and  indissolubly  bound  up,  namely,  Daniel's 
and  the  Lord's  Olivet  Discourse.  How  intimately 
the  book  of  Daniel  and  the  book  of  Revelation  are 
connected  every  careful  reader  of  the  Bible  well 
knows.  The  supreme  subjects,  the  times,  the  opposing 
forces,  and  the  issue  of  the  mighty  conflict  are  in  both 
identical.  In  both  the  same  theme  is  prominent,  viz.: 
the  Kingdom  of  God  in  its  deadly  struggle  with  the 
hostile  world-power  and  its  victory  over  it.  Daniel 
and  John  are  companion  books,  at  once  complemental 
and  supplemental  of  each  other.  The  Lord's  Olivet 
Discourse,  as  recorded  in  Matt,  xxiv,  and  Luke  xxi, 
furnishes  a  sort  of  frame  for  much  of  the  Apocalypse. 
It  is  beyond  dispute  that  Christ  deals  with  two 
supreme  events,  viz.:  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  and  His 
Second  Advent.  It  is  with  the  latter  event  He  mainly 
is  concerned.  He  speaks  with  much  fulness  on  the 
closing  scenes  of  the  age,  of  the  Tribulation,  the 
signs  that  announce  the  nearness  of  the  Advent,  and 
of  the  Advent  itself.  It  is  with  the  same  great  crisis 
of  the  world  that  our  book  deals.  In  Daniel  it  is  the 
Gentile  World-power,  become  apostate  and  hostile  to 
God  and  His  cause  and  people,  that  is  crushed  by  the 


SYMBOLISM.  19 

overwhelming  judgment  of  the  Lord.  The  same 
monstrous  Power,  beastly  and  savage,  reappears  in 
the  Revelation,  and  meets  there  the  same  tremendous 
doom.  In  the  Olivet  Prophecy  of  Christ  the  people 
of  Israel  hold  a  pre-eminent  place;  and  in  the  Revela- 
tion the  same  chosen  people  are  alike  conspicuous. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Apocalypse  is  the 
expansion,  with  marvellous  additions,  of  the  Olivet 
Prophecy  and  the  book  of  Daniel.  He  who  studies 
both  these  until  he  comes  to  understand  them  will  find 
the  study  of  our  book  greatly  facilitated. 


CHAPTER   III. 
Systems  of  Interpretation". 

IV.  Systems  of  Interpretation.  Four  methods  of 
interpreting  the  book  are  advocated,  which  we  de- 
scribe as  briefly  as  possible. 

The  first  is  that  commonly  called  Preterism,  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made.  Its  funda- 
mental principle  is  this :  the  Revelation  is  a  dramatic 
representation  of  conditions  and  events  existent  in 
John's  own  day,  that  its  visions  must  be  limited  to  his 
horizon,  that  it  has  to  do  with  the  Roman  State,  with 
Israel,  Jerusalem,  and  the  Christian  Church  of  the 
first  century,  the  apostolic  age,  and  with  the  conflicts 
then  raging.  It  holds  that  Nero  was  the  Beast,  that 
the  letters  of  his  name  written  in  Hebrew  (Nero 
Caesar)  give  the  mystic  number  666;  that  John  adopted 
the  absurd  fiction,  that  Nero  did  not  die  by  his  own 
hand,  that  he  was  somewhere  concealed  till  the  hour 
should  arrive  for  his  reappearance,  when  most  extra- 
ordinary things  would  take  place.  This,  in  short,  is 
the  rationalistic  interpretation  which  obviously  de- 
stroys the  credibility  of  the  book  and  reduces  it  to 
the  level  of  the  wildest  fable. 

There  are  those,  however,  who  are  evangelical  in 
their  belief,  who  accept  the  book  as  an  authoritative 
revelation,  but  who  adopt  the  preterist  explanation. 
Among    these   may   be   mentioned    the   most   recent 

20 


SYSTEMS  OF  INTERPRETATION.  21 

writers;  as,  e.  g.,  Prof.  Ramsay  (Letters  to  the  Seven 
Churches,  1905),  Dr.  Swete  (Apocalypse  of  St.  John, 
1907,  2d  ed.),  and  Simcox  (Cambridge  Series  of 
Comm.).  They  hold  that  John  did  actually  accept  the 
fiction  about  Nero,  and  that  he  used  it  to  make  his 
teaching  effective  and  illustrative.  Both  Ramsay  and 
Swete  date  the  book  in  the  reign  of  Domitian,  A.  D. 
95-6,  and  they  think  that  Nero's  "  deadly  wound  was 
healed"  when  the  fierce  persecutor  of  the  Christians, 
Domitian,  became  Emperor.  They  hold  that  Domitian, 
A.  D.  81-96,  was  the  Beast  of  xiii,  and  Babylon 
the  Harlot  City  of  Rome,  xvii.  These  writers  have 
poured  a  flood  of  light  on  the  times  and  the  conditions 
of  the  apostolic  age;  in  this  respect,  as  in  others  also, 
their  books  are  genuinely  helpful.  But  we  believe 
their  exposition  of  the  Revelation  utterly  breaks 
down  when  confronted  with  the  facts  in  the  case. 
John  distinctly  tells  us  that  five  of  the  heads  of  the 
Beast  had  fallen  (of  course  when  he  wrote),  that  one, 
the  sixth,  was  existing  at  the  time,  and  that  there  was 
to  come  the  seventh  head  of  the  monster,  when  the 
mighty  events  which  he  was  foretelling  would  be 
accomplished  (xvii:  10).  But  Domitian  was  not  the 
seventh  head  of  the  Beast,  nor  the  eighth,  as  this 
view  necessitates  he  should  be.  No  less  than  five 
Emperors  ruled  between  Nero  and  Domitian,  viz. : 
Galba,  Otho,  Vitellius,  Vespasian,  and  Titus.  Even  if 
the  first  three  of  these  be  thrown  out  because  of  their 
short  reigns,  still  two  others  remain,  one  of  whom  was 
Emperor  for  ten  years  and  the  other  for  two.  Be- 
sides, none  of  the  stupendous  events  predicted  in  the 


22  THE  REVELATION. 

book,  as  occurring  when  the  Beast  is  here,  took  place 
under  any  of  these  Emperors,  nor  have  they  to  this  day, 
in  the  judgment  of  many  scholars.  The  defect  of  these 
preterist  views  is  mainly  this:  a  totally  inadequate 
recognition  of  the  inspiration  of  the  book.  One  who 
really  believes  that  Jesus  Christ  gave  this  revelation 
to  John  in  Patmos,  as  John  solemnly  affirms  He  did 
(i:  i-ii),  cannot  for  a  moment  accept  the  notion  that 
John  adopted  the  fiction  about  Nero,  or  that  he 
fancied  the  visions  shown  him  were  being  fulfilled 
in  the  conditions  which  surrounded  him.  Christ's 
glorious  Advent  is  the  center  and  sum  of  this  book, 
not  John's  own  times,  and  not  till  He  comes  will  its 
supreme  predictions  be  realized. 

The  second  system  of  interpretation  is  the  Spiritual. 
By  this  is  meant  that  the  book  treats  of  the  conflict 
between  good  and  evil,  between  Christ  and  Satan,  the 
conflict  that  began  with  man's  sin  and  fall,  that  runs 
through  all  history,  and  that  will  end  only  with  the 
end  of  time.  The  Revelation  is  a  poetic  and  prophetic 
picture  of  the  struggle  between  righteousness  and 
sin,  and  that  accordingly  we  are  not  to  look  for  special 
fulfilments  of  its  predictions ;  it  deals  with  great  prin- 
ciples, with  their  action,  and  with  their  defeats  and 
victories.  So  the  Seals  are  intended  to  show  one 
phase  of  the  conflict,  the  Trumpets  another,  and  the 
Vials  a  third — all  these  are  but  vivid  photographs  of 
the  war  between  good  and  evil,  not  specific 
transactions. 

The  objections  to  this  interpretation  are  conclusive, 
we  think,     (i.)   There  is  its  novelty,  to  begin  with. 


SYSTEMS  OF  INTERPRETATION. 


23 


The  ancient  Church  did  not  so  regard  the  book;  nor 
did  the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages;  nor  did  that  of 
the  Reformation;  nor  has  it  in  later  times.  Few, 
indeed,  even  in  our  own  day  accept  it.  It  is  advocated, 
however,  by  some  very  able  and  devout  men,  as  Prof. 
Milligan,  Archdeacon  Lee,  Prof.  Randell,  Prof. 
Purves,  and  many  others.  The  great  teachers  of  the 
church  have  believed  that  while  the  stupendous  sym- 
bolism is  to  be  constantly  recognized,  the  symbols 
themselves  describe  real  events  and  actors.  With  them 
the  Dragon  is  Satan,  the  Beast  is  the  hostile  power  of 
the  state,  the  harlot  the  apostate  ecclesiastical  system, 
and  the  heavenly  Conqueror  is  Christ. 

(2.)  The  book  itself  claims  to  be  genuine  prophecy. 
It  fills,  or  seems  to  fill,  the  future  with  actual  beings, 
some  human,  some  extra-human,  some  Divine.  But, 
if  the  spiritual  explanation  be  true,  then  the  book  is 
an  exaggeration  and  its  pictures  overdrawn  and 
unnatural. 

(3.)  This  theory  ignores  the  plain  statements  of 
Revelation.  Very  distinctly  and  definitely  the  inspired 
writer  furnishes  certain  chronological  data  that  fix 
periods  and  events  of  the  future  which  mark  historical 
sequence  and  exact  time-limits.  In  chap,  xx:  2-^^ 
six  times  the  period  of  one  thousand  years  is  men- 
tioned. It  is  the  number  from  which  we  derive  the 
idea  of  a  Millennium.  It  is  described  as  a  period  of 
blessedness,  of  Satan's  imprisonment,  of  evil  sup- 
pressed, of  righteousness  in  the  ascendency,  of  the 
universal  sway  of  the  heavenly  Kingdom.  That  time 
is  not  put  as  ideal,  as  spiritual  or  figurative,  but  as 


24  THE  REVELATION. 

actual  and  real.  Other  numbers  are  given,  as  e,  g., 
forty-two  months,  xi :  2 ;  xiii :  5 ;  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  days,  xi :  3 ;  xii :  6 ;  time,  times,  and  dividing  of 
time,  xii:  14 — all  which  betoken  history,  reality. 

(4.)  Evil  ever  seeks  to  concentrate  in  a  person  or 
a  system;  so  does  good.  Revelation  shows  us  evil 
centralized  in  the  Beast  and  in  the  False  Prophet,  and 
in  their  followers.  Faithfulness  and  loyalty  to  God  is 
also  centralized  in  persons;  in  the  two  Witnesses,  xi: 
in  the  angels  who  fill  so  large  a  place  in  the  action  of 
the  book ;  in  the  Sun-clothed  Woman  and  her  Son ;  in 
the  Palm-bearers,  vii;  and  the  Conqueror  and  His 
armies,  xix.  We  cannot  accept  this  method  of  ex- 
plaining the  book.  For  it  empties  it  of  much  of  its 
significance,  and  impeaches  it  as  guilty  of  inflation 
and  distortion.  Whatever  is  true  in  it  may  be  recog- 
nized, but  as  an  interpretation  it  is  wholly  inadequate. 

The  third  is,  the  Historical  Interpretation.  Briefly, 
it  means  this:  the  book  is  a  prophetic  history  of  the 
church  and  the  world  from  the  time  of  John  to  the 
final  consummation  at  Christ's  Advent.  The  predic- 
tions deal  only  with  the  most  prominent  events  of  this 
vast  period,  and  not  with  details.  The  majority  of 
Protestant  commentators  adopt  it.  Its  dominant  idea 
is  this:  the  Seals,  Trumpets  and  Vials  are  symbols  of 
successive  stages  in  the  world's  history.  Each  set  be- 
longs to  a  distinct  class  of  events.  So,  likewise  the 
explanatory  visions,  as  chaps,  x-xiv,  mark  epochs  that 
follow  each  other  in  temporal  sequence.  Some  of  the 
ablest  students  of  the  book  have  sought  to  open  these 
prophecies   according   to    this    principle,    as    Bengel, 


SYSTEMS  OF  INTERPRETATION.  25 

Mead,  Newton,  Elliott,  Guinness,  and  the  late  A.  J. 
Gordon.  That  there  is  truth  in  this  method  of  inter- 
pretation cannot  be  doubted  by  those  who  have  made 
ecclesiastical  and  profane  history  a  real  study. 
The  correspondence  between  the  prediction  and  its 
historical  fulfilment  is  too  obvious  and  striking  to 
be  accidental  or  fortuitous.  The  one  matches  the  other 
so  marvellously  that  God  is  recognized  as  the  author 
of  the  prophecy.  It  may  at  once  be  admitted  that  the 
prophecy  is  so  constructed  as  to  touch  the  salient 
events  of  our  dispensation.  But  as  a  system  of  inter- 
pretation it  is  incomplete.  It  leaves  huge  gaps  in  the 
history  of  the  past  1,800  years.  A  period  of  500  years, 
from  A.  D.  1000  to  1500  inclusive,  it  leaves  almost  un- 
touched. It  rests  chiefly  on  the  year-day  theory,  i.  e., 
that  a  day  in  prophetic  Scripture  stands  for  a  year. 
This  is  extremely  doubtful.  Indeed,  it  does  not  now 
commend  itself  to  sober  interpreters  as  once  it  did.  In 
the  judgment  of  not  a  few,  Tregelles  has  demon- 
strated it  to  be  fallacious  and  unbiblical.  But  even 
assuming  there  is  ground  for  it  in  the  prophetic  word, 
the  historical  expounders  of  Revelation  are  wide  apart 
in  its  application.  For  instance,  there  is  a  number  that 
frequently  occurs  in  the  book,  viz.:  1,260  days,  42 
months,  three  years  and  a  half — the  three  denote  the 
same  period  of  time.  A  year  for  a  day  amounts  to 
1,260  years.  The  end  of  the  1,260  is  the  consumma- 
tion of  our  age:  it  is  the  supreme  crisis.  But  from 
what  point  is  it  to  be  dated?  What  is  its  terminus 
a  quo?  Here  disagreement  and  divergence  at  once 
arise.    Unanimity  as  to  the  starting-point  of  the  1,260 


26  THE  REVELATION. 

years  there  is  none.  Joachim  (c.  1200)  begins  with 
A.  D.  I  and  ends  with  A.  D.  1260;  Melancthon,  A.  D. 
660-2000;  Bengel,  576-1836;  Mede,  455-1715;  Flem- 
ing, 606-1848;  Gill,  606-1866;  Elliott,  608-1868;  Cun- 
ningham, 533-1792;  Fysh,  727-1987;  Guinness,  672- 
1932. 

The  fourth  is  the  Futurist,  which  holds  that  the 
predictions,  particularly  from  chap,  iv  to  chap,  xx: 
6,  have  their  fulfilment  in  a  brief  space  of  time  at  the 
close  of  our  dispensation — the  whole  being  limited  to 
some  seven  years,  which  end  with  the  Lord's  Advent. 
With  much  of  this  view  the  writer  agrees,  not  with  all 
of  it.  This  will  appear  as  we  proceed  with  the  ex- 
amination of  the  various  parts  of  the  book. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
Plan  and  Structure. 

V.  The  Plan  of  the  Revelation.  Its  structure  is 
most  artistic,  unequalled  in  this  respect,  perhaps,  by 
any  other  book  of  the  Bible.  To  the  superficial  reader 
it  presents  a  different  appearance.  To  him  it  appears 
complex,  confused,  enigmatical,  even  unintelligible.  It 
was  on  account  of  this  popular  notion  of  the  book 
(in  itself  totally  false)  that  Dr.  South  made  his  pro- 
fane remark  that  has  done  no  small  injury — "  that 
mysterious,  extraordinary  .  .  .  book  called  the  Revela- 
tion .  .  .  which  the  more  it  is  studied  the  less  it  is  under- 
stood, as  generally  finding  a  man  cracked  or  making 
him  so."  To  the  devout  and  patient  student,  who 
seeks  to  know  the  Lord's  mind  in  all  His  word,  it  .has 
no  such  character  as  South  ascribes  to  it.  He  may 
not  be  able  to  grasp  its  full  meaning,  he  may  have 
to  leave  great  tracts  in  it  wholly  unexplored  because 
he  cannot  penetrate  them,  but  he  finds  exquisite  beauty 
in  its  structure,  divine  wisdom  and  infinite  skill  in  the 
correlation  and  the  combination  of  its  various  scenes 
and  visions.  Throughout  a  mighty  plan  runs.  Order 
rules.  God's  purposes  are  disclosed.  The  book  is  an 
Apocalypse,  not  an  enigma  nor  a  puzzle. 

First,  note  its  use  of  numbers.  This  is  remarkable 
both  for  frequency  and  peculiarity.  We  might  truly 
say  that  Revelation  has  a  numerical  structure.     Its 

2Z 


28  THE  REVELATION. 

form    to    some    considerable   extent   is   governed   by 
numbers. 

(i.)  Three.  It  is  very  prominent,  nor  is  it  confined 
to  the  idea  of  Trinity.  It  embraces  more  than  in- 
dividual completeness;  it  moulds  sentences  and  para- 
graphs; it  describes  unseen  and  eternal  realities.  In 
i :  4,  5,  6,  are  three  sets  of  three :  we  have  "  him  who 
is,  and  who  was,  and  who  is  to  come;"  Jesus  Christ, 
"  the  faithful  witness,  the  firstborn  of  the  dead,  the 
ruler  of  the  kings  of  the  earth ;"  believers  are  "  loved, 
loosed  from  their  sins,  and  made  kings  and  priests 
unto  God."  John  himself  seems  to  assign  a  threefold 
division  to  this  book,  i :  19.  "  Write,  therefore,  the 
things  which  thou  sawest,  and  the  things  which  are, 
and  the  things  which  shall  come  to  pass  hereafter." 
The  prominence  given  the  number  three  in  the  fourth 
chapter  is  remarkable.  In  iv:  i  there  is  the  door 
opened,  the  voice  that  summons  John  on  high,  and 
the  promise.  The  nameless  Occupant  of  the  heavenly 
throne  is  like  a  jasper,  and  a  sardius  gem,  and  the 
emerald-like  rainbow  encircles  the  throne,  iv:  2. 
Three  things  distinguish  the  twenty- four  elders;  they 
are  enthroned,  are  arrayed  in  white  raiment,  and  are 
gold-crowned,  iv:  4.  Out  of  the  throne  proceed 
lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunder,  iv:  5.  Before 
the  throne,  and  round  about  it,  and  within  it  are  three 
objects,  viz. :  seven  lamps,  a  glassy  sea,  and  four  living 
creatures,  iv:  5,  6.  The  four  living  creatures  chant 
the  Trisagion,  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy " — addressed  to 
"  the  Almighty  who  was  and  who  is,  and  who  is  to 
come ;"  and  they  give  Him  "  glory,  and  honor,  and 


PLAN  AND  STRUCTURE.  29 

thanks,"  iv:  8,  9.  The  gold-crowned  Elders,  like- 
wise, in  their  magnificent  chant  give  Him  "  glory,  and 
honor,  and  power,"  iv:  11.  Moreover,  there  are  three 
Woe  Trumpets,  viii:  13;  three  frog-like  spirits  issue 
from  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
beast,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet,  xvi: 
13.  In  chap,  xviii:  8,  three  plagues  come  upon 
Babylon — death,  mourning  and  famine;  and  in  the 
same  chapter  three  classes  of  men  wail  over  Babylon's 
Fall,  Kings,  ver.  9 ;  merchants,  ver.  1 1 ;  seamen,  ver. 
17.  These  are  but  specimens  of  the  significant  use  of 
this  number  three. 

(2.)  Four.  By  some  this  is  supposed  to  be  the 
number  of  creation.  It  certainly  is  found  often  in 
connection  with  earth  and  its  forces.  Chap,  iv:  6-8 
describes  the  four  Living  Creatures,  which  have  four 
faces,  viz. :  the  ox,  the  lion,  the  eagle,  and  man.  They 
are  the  four  great  heads  of  creation,  and  they  are  most 
intimately  associated  with  the  Throne,  iv:  6  (cf. 
Ezek.  i:  5-28;  x).  Mention  is  made  of  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  of  the  four  angels  stationed 
thereat,  holding  the  four  winds  in  their  grasp,  vii :  I ; 
four  angels,  likewise,  are  stationed  at  the  river 
Euphrates,  their  watch  and  their  action  are  for  a  four- 
fold division  of  time,  an  hour,  and  a  day,  and  a  month, 
and  a  year,  ix:  14,  15.  In  the  awful  carnage  of  the 
trodden  Winepress,  the  blood  of  the  slain  extends 
for  1,600  furlongs,  i.  e.,  the  square  of  four  multiplied 
by  100.  In  the  first  four  Seals,  four  horses  go  forth 
at  the  call  of  the  four  living  creatures,  vi :  1-7.  More- 
over, four  often  enters  into  the  structure  of  sentences; 


30 


THE  REVELATION. 


as,  e.  g.,\:g;  viii:  5;  x:  11;  xvi:  18;  xviii:  22,  etc. 
In  xxi :  8  there  are  eight  descriptive  epithets  employed 
touching  the  wicked,  two  sets  of  four,  or  four  sets  of 
two. 

In  the  messages  to  the  Seven  Churches  there  is  a 
division  of  them  into  two  groups  of  three  and  four 
respectively.  In  the  first  three,  viz. :  Ephesus,  Smyrna, 
and  Pergamos,  the  exhortation  to  hear  what  the  Spirit 
says  precedes  the  promise  to  the  over  comer,  ii:  7,  11, 
17.  But  in  the  four  that  follow,  viz. :  Thyatira,  Sar- 
dis,  Philadelphia,  and  Laodicea,  the  exhortation  to 
hear  what  the  Spirit  says  comes  after  the  promise  to 
the  overcomer,  ii :  26-29 ;  iii :  5,  6 ;  iii :  12,  13 ;  iii :  21,  22. 
This  is  a  remarkable  combination  of  the  numbers  three 
and  four.  Its  significance  is  difficult  to  determine  with 
any  satisfaction.  These  also  are  but  specimens  of  the 
use  of  four. 

(3.)  Seven.  This  number  is  not  only  employed  to  de- 
note so  many  individual  objects,  but  it  enters  very 
largely  into  the  whole  plan  of  the  book.  Seven  is  the 
number  of  completeness,  of  perfection,  and  of  dispensa- 
tional  fulness.  All  readers  know  that  there  are  four  sets 
of  sevens  that  cover  a  very  considerable  section  of  the 
book.  These  are  the  seven  messages  to  the  seven 
churches,  ii,  iii.  The  vision  of  the  seven  seals,  which 
embraces  v-viii:  i  (with  an  episode  between  the  sixth 
and  the  seventh  of  the  series,  viz.:  vii).  The  vision 
of  the  seven  trumpets,  viii:  2-xi:  16  (with  an  episode 
between  the  sixth  and  the  seventh,  x-xi:  13).  The 
vision  of  the  seven  vails,  xv :  5-xvi.  Thus  nearly  one- 
half  of  the  book  belongs  to  this  fourfold  series. 


PLAN  AND  STRUCTURE.  3! 

There  are  fourteen  (a  double  seven)  Songs  or 
Choruses  in  the  Revelation,  which  the  American  Re- 
vision rightly  indicates  by  printing  them  on  the  page 
as  if  they  were  poetry  or  quotations;  which  in  fact 
they  are.  These  Songs  are  found  through  the  book  in 
the  following  chapters:  iv:  8,  11 ;  v:  9,  12,  13;  vii:  10, 
12;  xi:  15,  17,  18;  xii:  10-12;  xv:  3,  4;  xix:  i,  2,  5,  6-8. 

These  Songs  or  rhythmical  utterances  are  all  spoken 
by  heavenly  beings  and  in  heaven,  with  one  sole  ex- 
ception, i.  e,,  chap,  v:  13,  in  which  every  created  thing 
in  heaven,  on  earth,  and  under  the  earth  breaks  out  in 
tuneful  ascription  of  praise  and  honor  and  blessing  to 
the  Lamb,  because  He  is  now  at  length  about  to 
redeem  by  power  His  vast  inheritance,  even  as  He  has 
once  for  all  redeemed  it  by  blood.  It  is  gloriously 
right  and  fitting  that  all  creation  should  lift  up  its 
voice  in  a  majestic  anthem  of  praise,  since  its  time  of 
deliverance  is  finally  come. 

This,  notable  as  it  is,  does  not  exhaust  the  use  of 
this  number.  It  enters  into  passages  where  no  direct 
rqention  of  it  is  made.  Thus,  in  v :  12,  seven  attributes 
of  praise  are  ascribed  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain ;  the 
white-robed  company  in  vii:  12  worship  God  with  the 
like  number  of  ascriptions.  Chap,  xiv :  1-20  consists  of 
seven  parts,  viz. :  the  Lamb  with  His  glorious  com- 
pany on  mount  Zion :  the  everlasting  gospel :  Babylon's 
fall:  the  solemn  threat  against  any  fellowship  with 
the  Beast:  happy  lot  of  those  who  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth:  the  harvest:  the  vintage.  Besides, 
the  chapter  mentions  six  angels,  and  One  like  the 
Son  of  Man.    The  place  of  honor  is  given  the  Son  of 


32  THE  REVELATION. 

man — three  angels  are  on  each  side  of  Him,  and  He 
is  in  the  midst,  presiding  over  the  vast  movements.  The 
cHmax  of  the  series  is  in  the  number  four,  where  He 
sits  on  the  white  Cloud. 

The  "seven  spirits  before  the  throne  "  (i:  4)  express 
the  infinite  perfection  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  "  seven 
stars"  in  Christ's  right  hand  (i:  16)  denote  the  com- 
plete authority  He  has  over  the  churches.  The  Lamb 
has  "seven  horns  and  se\en  eyes"  (v:  6),  which 
denote  the  almighty  power,  the  supreme  intelligence, 
and  the  perfect  omniscience  with  which  He  is 
endowed. 

This  may  suffice  to  indicate  how  deeply  the  number 
seven  is  woven  into  the  structure  of  Revelation,  and 
how  it  dominates  it.  It  would  hardly  be  going  too  far 
to  assert  that  the  book  is  built  on  the  principle  of  the 
septinary. 

(4.)  Ten  is  the  number  of  secular  organization  and 
of  power.  The  Beast  has  ten  horns,  and  on  his  horns, 
ten  diadems  (xiii:  i).  These  are  symbols  of  power. 
Ten  joined  with  seven  signifies  the  perfection  of 
Satanic  force  and  worldly  dominion.  The  Beast  with 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns  is  the  embodiment  of 
devilish  energy,  and  of  apostate,  imperial  supremacy. 

(5.)  Twelve  is  the  number  of  final  and  eternal  per- 
fection and  duration.  The  Celestial  City,  the  New 
Jerusalem  (xxi,  xxii:  5),  has  twelve  foundations, 
with  twelve  gates,  with  twelve  angel  sentinels  and 
guardians;  the  City  is  a  majestic  cube,  twelve  thou- 
sand furlongs  being  the  measure  of  its  form.    The  tree 


PLAN  AND  STRUCTURE. 


33 


of  life  yields  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yields  them 
through  twelve  months  of  a  cycle. 

Auberlin  does  not  exaggerate  this  feature  of  the 
Apocalypse  when  he  says,  "  The  history  of  salvation 
is  mysteriously  governed  by  holy  numbers.  They  are 
the  scaffolding  of  the  organic  edifice.  They  are  not 
merely  outward  indications  of  time,  but  indications 
of  nature  and  essence.  Scripture  and  antiquity  put 
numbers  as  the  fundamental  forms  of  things  where 
we  put  ideas." 

A  second  significant  phase  of  the  structure  of  Reve- 
lation deserves  careful  scrutiny.  It  may  be  called  the 
plan  of  recapitulation,  or  better,  perhaps,  parallelism. 
What  is  meant  is  this:  the  chief  series  of  visions, 
e.  g.,  the  Seals,  Trumpets,  and  Vials,  do  not  succeed 
each  other  in  historical  and  chronological  sequence, 
but  move  side  by  side.  They  do  not  all  have  the  same 
starting-point,  but  they  all  arrive  at  the  same  goal; 
namely,  the  final  consummation.  They  all  lead  up  to 
the  transcendant  event  which  is  the  central  theme  of 
the  book,  the  personal  Advent  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Victorinus,  the  earliest  commentator  on  the 
Apocalypse,  wrote :  "  The  order  of  the  things  said  is 
not  to  be  regarded,  since  often  the  Holy  Spirit  when 
He  has  run  to  the  end  of  the  last  time  again  returns 
to  the  same  times  and  supplies  what  He  has  less  fully 
expressed."  His  view  is  that  of  many  modern 
expositors. 

The  same  peculiarity  of  structure  appears  in  the 
book  of  Daniel.  In  chap,  ii  of  that  book  we  have 
the  four  hostile  World  Monarchies  represented  by  a 


34  THE  REVELATION. 

huge  metallic  Image  and  its  destruction  by  the  Stone. 
In  chap,  vii,  the  same  World-Power  is  symbolized  by 
four  predatory  beasts.  Chap,  viii  gives  the  prophetic 
history  of  two  of  these  same  Powers,  and  chaps,  x, 
xi,  xii,  trace  the  action  and  the  overthrow  of  the  same 
great  enemy.  Like  John,  Daniel  traces  one  line  of 
prediction  down  to  the  consummation ;  then  he  returns 
to  follow  a  second,  then  a  third,  and  finally  a  fourth — 
all  terminating  at  the  End-time.  It  is  prophetic  re- 
capitulation, apocalyptic  parallelism.  It  is  a  style  pecu- 
liar to  these  two  books  of  the  Bible.  To  ignore  it,  or 
to  fail  to  recognize  it  as  the  fundamental  phase  of 
the  book's  structure,  is  to  deprive  the  student  of  the 
true  interpretation,  and  is  sure  to  lead  into  all  sorts 
of  vagaries  and  speculations. 

Proof  of  such  parallelism  of  the  great  Vision  above 
referred  to  is  now  to  be  submitted.  James  Smith  calls 
the  process  "  folding  back,"  i.  e.,  each  vision  as  it  is 
introduced  and  described  folds  back  upon  the  vision 
which  precedes  it.  In  other  words,  the  process  is 
that  of  contemporaneousness,  and  not  that  of  succes- 
sion at  all,  as  so  many  interpreters  of  the  book  have 
thought. 

It  is  very  noteworthy  that  the  Seals,  Trumpets,  and 
Vials,  all  alike  end  in  mysterious  "  voices,"  and  in 
cosmical  convulsions  and  revolutions.  (The  introduc- 
tion of  the  angel-trumpeters  is  before  the  effects  of 
the  opening  of  the  seventh  Seal  are  described,  viii :  2 ; 
their  beginning  to  sound  is  after  the  seventh  SeaFs 
effects  are  announced,  viii:  3-5.)  The  opening  of  the 
seventh  Seal  is  followed  by  "  voices,  and  thunderings. 


PLAN  AND  STRUCTURE.  35 

and  lightnings,  and  an  earthquake,"  viii:  5.  The 
seventh  Trumpet  is  succeeded  by  "  Hghtnings,  and 
voices,  and  thunderings,  and  an  earthquake,  and  great 
hail,"  xi:  19.  The  pouring  out  of  the  seventh  Vial 
is  followed  by  "  voices,  and  thunders,  and  lightnings ; 
and  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not  since 
men  were  upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and 
so  great,"  xvi:  18.  It  will  be  noted  that  these  Voices 
and  Cosmic  Convulsions  occur  under  the  seventh  of 
each  group,  and  that  they  are  identical  in  character, 
and  almost  entirely  identical  in  language.  Unmistak- 
ably they  point  to  the  same  event,  they  describe  the 
like  tremendous  phenomena,  they  belong  to  the  same 
world-wide  catastrophe;  namely,  the  final  consumma- 
tion, the  End-time,  when  Jesus  Christ  shall  again  ap- 
pear in  majesty  and  glory  in  this  our  earth,  and  for- 
ever terminate  the  deadly  struggle  between  His  rule 
and  Satan's.  It  seems  perfectly  clear  from  the  facts 
just  stated  that  these  Visions  are  contemporaneous, 
that  they  follow  the  same  general  course,  that  they 
pertain  to  the  same  period  of  time,  and  that,  therefore, 
they  are  parallel  with  each  other.  They  are  synchron- 
ous ;  not  successive,  with  long  intervals  between. 

Furthermore,  the  student  of  the  Revelation  cannot 
fail  to  note  the  striking  similarity,  the  almost  exact 
identity  which  subsists  between  the  action  of  the 
Trumpets  and  of  the  Vials.  They  belong  to  the  same 
sphere,  they  move  in  the  same  circle  of  events,  and 
cover  the  like  field.  The  subjoined  table  confirms  the 
foregoing  statement: 


36  THE  REVELATION. 

Trumpets.  Vials. 

First.  The  earth,  chap,  viii :  7.  The  earth,  chap,  xvi :  2. 

Second.  The  sea,  viii :  8.  The  sea,  xvi :  3. 

Third.   Rivers,   fountains,  viii :  Rivers  and  fountains,  xvi :  4. 

10. 

Fourth.  Sun,  moon,  stars,  viii:  The  sun,  xvi:  8. 

12. 

Fifth.     The  abyss,  king  Abad-  Throne  of  the  Beast,  xvi :  10. 

don,  ix:   11. 

Sixth.    River    Euphrates,    ix.  River  Euphrates,  xvi :  12. 

Seventh.  Voices,  thunders,  etc.,  Voices,  thunders,  etc.,  17,  18. 

xi:   15,    19. 

A  careful  inspection  of  this  table  is  enough  to  per- 
suade us  that  these  tw^o  groups  of  visions  move  along 
the  same  lines,  although  each  has  peculiarities  that  per- 
tain to  itself.  They  touch  the  same  points,  they  begin, 
they  progress,  and  they  end  precisely  alike.  The  main 
difference  between  the  two  lies  in  the  extent  of  their 
respective  action ;  the  Trumpets  are  restricted  in  their 
action;  the  Vials  are  universal.  The  Trumpets  smite 
the  third  part  of  the  earth,  the  third  part  of  the  sea, 
the  third  part  of  the  rivers  and  fountains,  and  the 
third  part  of  the  sun.  These  four  Trumpets  are 
limited  thus  to  a  definite  and  partial  area.  The  four 
Vials  corresponding  to  these  Trumpets  are  not  so 
restricted,  they  blast  the  whole  of  that  which  they 
strike.  In  the  first  and  second  of  the  Woe  Trumpets 
there  is  exemption  for  the  grass  and  the  trees,  but  un- 
utterable judgment  for  the  men  who  had  not  the 
seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads,  unutterable  torment, 
likewise,  for  the  third  part  of  men.  The  fifth  and 
sixth  Vials  are  not  confined  to  a  particular  sphere  as 


PLAN  AND  STRUCTURE. 


37 


are  the  Woe  Trumpets;  they  desolate  the  Beast's 
throne,  they  strike  his  kingdom  with  judicial  bHndness, 
they  marshal  the  whole  apostate  world  for  the  final 
and  overwhelming  conflict,  the  battle  of  the  great  day 
of  God  the  Almighty.  The  seventh  Trumpet  peals  forth 
the  glad  news,  "The  Kingdom  of  the  world  is  to  become 
the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ:  and  he 
shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever."  The  pouring  out  of 
the  seventh  Vial  brings  the  "  great  voice  out  of  the 
temple,  from  the  throne,  saying,  It  is  done."  Fairbairn 
is  right  when  he  says,  "  These  two  lines  of  symbolic 
representation  .  .  .  are  alike  in  their  commencement, 
their  progress,  and  their  termination."  The  Trumpets 
start  with  a  limited  infliction  of  the  wrath  of  God 
upon  the  guilty  rebels  of  the  last  days,  but  they 
deepen  in  sevenfold  energy  as  they  move  on  to  the 
end.  In  like  manner  the  Vials  intensify  in  severity, 
for  they  are  the  "  seven  last  plagues,"  and  in  them 
"  the  wrath  of  God  is  fulfilled." 

Moreover,  certain  "  catchwords,"  as  Wordsworth 
calls  them,  bind  the  visions  together,  thus  demon- 
strating the  identity  of  the  objects  in  view.  Thus,  the 
fellow-servants  and  brethren  of  the  martyrs  who  were 
to  be  slain  (vi:  9-1 1)  connect  with  the  blessed  dead 
who  die  in  the  Lord  (xiv:  12,  13),  and  with  those 
who  share  in  the  first  resurrection  (xx:  6).  The 
earthquake  under  the  sixth  Seal  connects  with  the 
earthquake  of  the  sixth  Trumpet  (vi:  12;  xi:  13). 
Under  the  fifth  Trumpet  the  ungodly  seek  death,  and 
death  flies  from  them  (ix:  6).  Under  the  fifth  Vial 
men  gnaw  their  tongues  for  pain  and  blaspheme  God 


38  THE  REVELATION. 

(xvi;  10,  II ).  The  Beast  which  first  appears  between 
the  sixth  and  the  seventh  Trumpets  (xi:  7)  connects 
with  the  Beast  of  xiii  and  the  Red  Dragon  of  xii.  The 
seaHng  of  144,000  (vii:  1-8)  connects  with  the  same 
number  in  chap,  xiv:  1-5.  The  lamb-like  Beast  from 
the  earth  speaks  as  a  Dragon  (xiii:  11).  The  word 
Dragon  occurs  twelve  times  in  the  Revelation,  and  is 
always  applied  to  Satan.  This  earth-Beast,  therefore, 
that  looks  so  lamb-like,  is  in  reality  satanic,  for  he  is 
the  servant  and  tool  of  the  Dragon  (xii:  9).  He  is 
the  False  Prophet.  By  such  "  catchwords  "  the  vari- 
ous visions  and  parts  of  the  book  are  knit  together 
in  closest  unity.  The  same  peculiarity  of  structure  is 
seen  in  the  various  "  episodes  "  and  intercalary  visions. 
Thus,  the  episode  of  the  "  Sealed  and  the  Saved," 
vii:  I -1 7,  is  placed  between  the  sixth  and  the  seventh 
Seals.  The  episode  relating  to  the  angel  with  the 
little  book  and  the  two  witnesses  is  inserted  between 
the  sixth  and  seventh  Trumpet,  x,  xi:  1-14.  The 
episode  of  the  gathering  of  the  world's  army  for  the 
final  and  decisive  battle  is  placed  between  the  sixth 
and  seventh  Vial,  xvi:  13-16.  All  this,  and  much 
might  be  added  to  it,  displays  how  the  Seer  has  riveted 
together  his  matchless  book  into  a  perfect  unity  of 
parts  and  of  contents. 

John  even  ties  up  his  predictions  with  those  of 
Daniel,  as  the  four  wild  Beasts  of  Daniel  (Dan.  vii) 
appear  also  in  the  Apocalypse  (xiii:  2). 

Once  more:  in  addition  to  the  episodes,  there  are 
intercalated  visions  in  the  progress  of  the  Revelation, 
which  are  essential  parts  of  its  structure,  and  which  ad- 


PLAN  AND  STRUCTURE,  39 

vance  its  central  idea,  the  coming  of  the  Lord  and  the 
establishment  of  His  Kingdom  in  victory  over  the  whole 
earth.  These  are,  the  Sun-clothed  Woman  and  the 
Dragon  (xii)  ;  the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet  (xiii)  ; 
the  mighty  program  of  the  End-time  (xiv)  ;  Babylon, 
the  Beast,  and  Babylon's  Doom  (xvii,  xviii,  xix:  10). 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  Chaps,  xii-xiv  are  interposed 
between  the  Trumpet  and  the  Vial  Visions ;  that  chaps, 
xvii-xix:  10  are  interposed  between  the  Vial  judg- 
ments and  the  actual,  visible  Advent,  judgment,  and 
first  resurrection  described  in  xix:  ii-xx:  6.  A  large 
part  of  the  book  is  thus  made  up  of  the  episodes  and 
intercalated  visions,  and  they  are  all  explanatory  and 
interpretative.  Without  them,  how  much  more 
enigmatical  and  difficult  the  book  would  be,  and  how 
immense  the  chasm  would  be  in  it  if  these  were 
dropped  out. 

The  Revelation  encloses  visions  within  visions,  and 
scenes  within  scenes.  The  query  may  arise,  Can  any 
explanation  be  made  of  this  peculiar  plan  of  the  book 
— this  involved  and  complex  structure?  None;  save 
that  it  pleased  the  Lord  so  to  construct  it;  and  this 
should  satisfy  the  believer.  Two  advantages  to  us, 
however,  seem  to  be  derived  from  this  divine  method 
of  revelation.  One  is  this:  it  serves  to  display  in  the 
most  graphic  manner  the  vastness  of  the  field  which 
the  book  covers.  Beyond  all  doubt  the  Revealer  deals 
with  the  world's  crisis,  with  the  consummation  of  all 
God's  ways  with  the  earth,  with  the  time  when  the 
"mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished"  (x:  7).  Heaven, 
earth,  and  hell  will  then  engage  in  a  struggle  such  as 


40  THE  REVELATION. 

our  planet  has  never  known  before,  and  probably  wili 
never  again  know.  The  issue  will  be  eternal  victory. 
So  far  as  we  in  our  profound  ignorance  may  per- 
ceive, the  sublime  symbolism  of  the  book  could  alone 
set  forth  adequately  the  magnitude  of  the  "  battle  of 
the  great  day  of  God,  the  Almighty."  Another  is: 
the  plan  affords  the  introduction  of  circumstantial 
details,  and  minute  descriptions  of  the  forces  and 
influences  that  will  come  into  collision  at  the  time  of 
the  End.  After  the  Seer  has  traced  one  line  of  predic- 
tion down  to  the  crisis  and  climax,  he  returns  and 
starts  afresh  with  another,  going  over  the  same  road, 
but  presenting  other  phases  and  aspects  of  the  same 
awful  period.  This  he  does  again  and  again,  for  one 
set  of  symbols  cannot  tell  all  he  has  to  communicate; 
he  must  add,  expand,  interject  before  he  has  done. 
Other  features  more  dreadful  than  any  yet  sketched 
must  be  shown ;  deeper  and  darker  shades  must  be  put 
in,  more  lurid  and  appalling  colors  must  be  laid  on, 
before  the  stupendous  picture  is  complete.  Each 
vision  in  turn  contributes  an  essential  part  to  the 
whole,  and  the  whole  reveals  the  character  and  the 
scenes  of  the  last  days  with  a  fulness  and  distinctness 
of  outline  and  detail  such  as  could  not  be  presented  by 
any  other  plan. 


CHAPTER   V. 
Analysis — Three  Forms. 

VI.  Analysis.  Three  forms  are  submitted.  The 
first  is  the  partition  of  the  contents  under  heads  and 
particulars  as  these  are  marked  in  the  book  itself. 
It  rests  on  the  plan  and  structure  of  Part  V. 

The  second  is  a  tabular  exhibition  of  the  contents, 
following,  mainly,  the  outlines  constructed  by  Prin- 
cipal Randell,  and  by  the  late  Dr.  Nathaniel  West. 

The  third  furnishes  still  another  partition  of  the 
contents,  and  this  is  copied  from  the  very  suggestive 
"Analysis  of  the  Apocalypse,"  by  Dr.  W.  J.  Erdman. 

It  is  fondly  hoped  that  the  three  will  serve  to  open 
to  the  reader  this  profound  and  difficult  book,  as,  per- 
haps, he  may  not  have  seen  nor  understood  it  hitherto. 
Certain  it  is,  the  three  studied  together,  as  well  as 
separately,  will  tend  to  lead  him  into  a  larger  knowl- 
edge of  the  book,  and  a  more  distinct  and  definite 
view  of  its  contents,  than  perhaps  he  might  not  other- 
wise receive. 

First. 

A.  Prologue,  chap,  i:  i-8 

B.  Vision  of  the  Glorified  Son  of  Man,  i:  9-20. 

C.  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches,  ii,  iii. 

41 


42  THE  REVELATION. 

D.  Vision  of  Heaven,  introductory,  iv-v. 

The  Throne,  The  Elders,  Living  Beings,  Sealed 
Book  and  the  Lamb. 

E.  Opening  of  the  Seven  Seals,  vi-viii:  i. 

First  Four  Seals,  vi:  i-8,  Fifth,  Martyrs,  vi:  9-1 1. 
Sixth,    supernatural    signs,    vi:    12-17;    Seventh, 

viii:  I,  5. 
Episode:  (a)  Sealing  144,000  of  Israel,  vii:  1-8. 
(b)  Innumerable    company    of    Saved 
Gentiles,  vii:  9-17. 

F.  Sounding  of  Seven  Trumpets,  viii:  7-xi:  19. 
First   Four   Trumpets,   viii:    7-12;    Three   Woe 

Trumpets,  viii:  13-xi:  19. 
Episode:  (a)  Angel  and  Little  Book,  x. 

(b)    Temple   and   Two  Witnesses,   xi: 
1-14 

G.  Visions  Interposed  between  Trumpets  and  Vials, 

chaps,  xii-xiv. 
Sun-clothed  Woman  and  Dragon,  xii. 
Beast  from  the  Sea,  xiii:  i-io. 
Beast  from  the  Earth,  xiii:  11-18. 
Lamb  and  His  Company  on  Mt.  Zion,  xiv:  I-5. 
Four  Great  Proclamations,  xiv:  6-13. 
The  Harvest,  xiv:  14-16. 
The  Vintage,  xiv:  17-20. 

H.     Vision  of  the  Seven  Vials,  xv,  xvi. 
Song  of  Victors  at  Glassy  Sea,  xv :  1-4. 
Prelude  to  Judgments,  xv:  5-8. 


ANALYSIS— THREE  FORMS.  43 

The  Seven  Judgments,  xvi. 
Episode,  xvi:  13-16,  armies  afield. 

I,      Visions    Interposed    between    Vials    and    Actual 
Advent,  xvii-xix:  10. 
Harlot  and  Beast,  xvii. 
Doom,  xviii. 
Joyous  Hallelujahs,  xix:  i-io. 

J.      Visible  Advent  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  chaps. 
xix:  ii-xx:  6. 
The  Epiphany,  xix:  11-18. 

Doom  of  Beast  and  False  Prophet,  xix:  19-21. 
Satan's  Imprisonment,  xx:  1-3. 
Resurrection  and  Millennium,  xx:  4-6. 

K.     Final  Revolt  and  Final  Judgment,  xx:  7-15. 

L.     City  of  God,  xxi-xxii:  5. 

M.     Epilogue,  xxii:  6-21. 


44 


THE  REVELATION. 


SECOND. 


The  Christophany :  Vision  of  the  glorified  Son  of 
Man,  chapter  i:  1-20. 


The  Seven  Churches,  chaps,  ii,  iii. 

(i)              (2)               (3)                (4)              (5)                  (6)  (7) 

Ephesus:  Smyrna:  Pergamos:   Thyatira:    Sardis:    Philadelphia:  Laodicea: 

Chap,  ii:  1-7.     ii:8-Ti.       ii:  12-17.       ii:  18-29.     iii:  1-6.          iii:  7-13.  iii:  14-22. 


The  Vision  of  Heaven,  chaps,  iv,  v. 

The  Throne,   Seven  Lamps  of  Fire,   24  Elders,   4  Living  Creatures,   Angels, 

Book,  Lamb. 


The  Seven  Seals,  chaps,  vi,  vii,  viii:  1-5. 

I  Seal.  2  Seal.  3  Seal.  4  Seal.  5  Seal.  6  Seal.                             7  Seal. 

White          Red  Black  Pale  Mar-  Signs 

Horse,  Horse,  Horse,  Horse,  tyrs,  rEpisode"! 

vi:i,2.  vi:3,4.  vi:5,6.  vi:7,8.  vi:9-ii.  vi:i2-i7.  [_   vii —    J  viii:i-5. 


The  Seven  Trumpets,  chaps.  viii:6-xi. 


ISt 


2d 


6th       rEpisode"]       7th 
viii:7.    viii:8,9.  viii:  10, 11.  viii:  12,13.    ix:  1-12.    ix:  13-21.  |_x,xi:  14 J  xi:i5-i9. 


Sd 


4th 


5th 


Interposed  Visions,  explanatory  and  interpretive, 
chaps,  xii-xiv. 


Sign  in  Heaven,  xii 

Sun-clothed  Woman  and 

Great  Red  Dragon. 


Beasts  from  Sea  and 
Earth,  xiii. 


Program  of  Events,  xiv. 
Harvest  and  Vintage. 


The  Seven  Vials,  chaps,  xv,  xvi. 

Last  Plagues. 


ISt  2d 

xvi:  2.    xvi:  3.    xvi 


3d  4th  5th  6th      r  Episode "]         7th 

'i:4-7.    xvi:8,9.    xvi:io,ii.    xvi:i2.  Lxvi:i3-i6.J  xvi:  17-21. 


Interposed  Explanatory  Visions, 
chaps,  xvii-xix:  i-io. 

Doom, 
xviii,  xix:  1-5. 


The  Harlot  Babylon  and  Beast, 
xvii. 


Marriage  of  Lamb, 
xix:  6-10. 


Visions  of  Epiphany  of  Christ :  Beasts  and  armies 
overwhelmed — Resurrection  of  Saints, 
chaps,  xix :  i  i-xx :  6. 


Vision  of  the  Last  Revolt  and  the  Last  Judgment, 
chap.  XX :  7-15. 


Vision  of  the  City  of  God — Paradise  Restored, 
chaps,  xxi,  xxii. 


Consum- 
mation:, 
Advent 
of  Christ. 

The  End 
of  the 
Age. 


The  End. 


The  End. 


The  End. 


The  End. 


The  End. 


The  End. 
Millen- 
nium. 


Absolute 
End. 


Eternity. 


ANALYSIS— THREE  FORMS. 


45 


THIRD. 

An  Analysis  of  the  Apocalypse. 

[W.  J.  ERDMAN.  D.D.] 


1: 1-8  The  Prologue 

1:  9-20  The  Son  of  Man 

2: 1-3: 22        The  Seven  Churches 


I    THE  SEVEN   CHURCHES 


4:1-5:14 
6:1-17 
7: 1-17 
8;1 


8:2-5 
8:  6-9:  21 
10:1-11:14 


Introduction 
Progression 
Episode 
Consummation 


Introduction 

Progression 

Episode 


11: 15-19         Consummation 


12: 1-13: 1  a  Introduction 

13: 1  b-18  Progression 

14:1-13  Episode 

14: 14-20  Consummation 


15: 1-8 
16:1-12 
16:13-16 
16:17-21 


Introduction 
Progression 
Episode 
Consummation 


17:1-18  Introduction 

18: 1-24  Progression 

19: 1-10  Episode 

19: 11  20: 15  Consummation 


II     THE   SEVEN   SEALS 

The  Throne,  the  Lamb  and  the  Book 

The  Six  Seals 

The  Sealed  and  the  Saved 

The  Seventh  Seal 

III  THE   SEVEN    TRUMPETS 

The  Angel  and  the  Incense 

The  Six  Trumpets 

The  Angel,  the  little  Book,  the 

Tvv^o  Witnesses 
The  Seventh  Trumpet 

IV  THE  SEVEN   PERSONAGES 

The  Two  Signs  in  Heaven 

The  Great  Tribulation 

The  First  Fruits  and  the  Three  Angels 

The  Harvest  and  the  Vintage 

V    THE   SEVEN   VIALS 

The  Overcomers  and  the  Seven  Angels 

The  Six  Vials 

The  Gathering  of  the  Kings 

The  Seventh  Vial 

VI     THE   SEVEN   DOOMS 

The  Babylon  and  the  Beast 
The  Doom  of  Babylon 
The  Four  Hallels 
The  Six  Final  Dooms 

VII     THE  SEVEN   NEW  THINGS 


21: 1-8  Introduction  New  Heaven,  Earth,  Peoples 

21: 9-22: 5       The  New  Jerusalem     City,  Temple 

22: 6-21  The  Epilogue  Luminary,  Paradise 


CHAPTER   VI. 

The  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches,  chaps,  ii,  Hi. 

They  are  inscribed  thus :  "  John  to  the  seven 
churches  which  are  in  Asia  (i:  4).  Asia,  of  course, 
does  not  mean  the  Continent^  nor  even  Asia  Minor, 
but  the  Province  of  Asia  in  Western  Asia  Minor. 
The  Seven  Churches  were  contiguous  to  each  other, 
the  greatest  distance  between  any  two  of  them  being 
some  fifty  miles,  while  in  the  case  of  some,  e.  g.,  Thy- 
atira,  Sardis  and  Philadelphia,  hardly  twenty  miles  lay 
between.  Other  groups  of  Christians  besides  those 
named  were  found  in  the  same  territory  even  in  Paul's 
time  (A.  D.  62-3),  as  at  Colossae  and  Hierapolis  (Col. 
iv:  13).  Ignatius  (c.  A.  D.  no,  i.  e.,  less  than  twenty 
years  after  John  wrote  the  book)  addressed  letters 
to  prosperous  churches  at  Tralles  and  Magnesia  in 
the  same  region,  and  it  is  presumable  they  existed 
when  the  Revelation  was  sent  forth.  Philip  the  Evan- 
gelist and  his  daughters,  who  entertained  Paul  in  their 
home  at  C^sarea  (Acts  xxi :  8,  9),  afterwards  removed 
to  Hierapolis,  where  Polycarp,  disciple  of  John  and 
pastor  at  Smyrna,  saw  the  daughters,  and  no  doubt 
talked  with  them  of  the  great  Apostle  (Prof.  Greg- 
ory). Near  this  same  period  (c.  A.  D.  120-30) 
Papias,  who  perhaps  saw  and  heard  John  himself, 
became    the   chief   pastor   at    Hierapolis.     All   these 

46 


EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES.        47 

various  churches,  Colossae,  HIerapolis,  Tralles,  Mag- 
nesia, and  others  far  more  widely  known  and  influ- 
ential flourished  at  the  close  of  the  first  century.  Now, 
how  happens  it  that  these  assemblies,  so  prominent 
and  important,  are  passed  by  in  total  silence  in  the 
book,  while  those  of  which  we  know  little  or  nothing, 
except  in  the  case  of  two,  beyond  what  is  told  us  in 
chaps,  ii,  iii,  hold  so  conspicuous  a  place  in  the  Lord's 
messages?  Why  are  these  seven  singled  out  and  ad- 
dressed, and  all  the  rest  of  the  whole  world  ignored? 
The  only  reasonable  explanation  is  this:  These  seven 
here  addressed  contained  in  themselves  the  character- 
istic features  of  the  entire  church  in  John's  day,  while 
the  others  did  not.  Accordingly,  far  more  than  local 
and  historical  interest  attaches  to  them.  These  Seven 
embraced  in  their  conditions,  in  their  circumstances 
and  in  their  tendencies  the  prophetic  history  of  the 
entire  Christian  Body  from  John  down  to  the  final 
consummation  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
That  is,  the  seven  churches  and  the  messages  ad- 
dressed to  them  represent  the  whole  church  of  John's 
time,  and  they  likewise  sketch  in  broad  outlines  its 
history  to  the  end. 

This  conclusion  is  warranted  by  the  following  con- 
siderations: (i)  The  divine  command  to  the  Seer 
was  to  write  out  and  send  the  whole  Apocalypse  to 
these  churches :  "  What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book, 
and  send  it  to  the  seven  churches,"  i:  11.  Certainly 
the  Revelation  was  not  intended  for  these  Christian 
assemblies  alone,  but  for  all  the  people  of  God 
throughout  the  earth.     (2)  The  book  is  one  of  sym- 


48  THE  REVELATION. 

bols  from  the  first  chapter  to  the  last,  and  if  chaps, 
ii,  iii,  form  an  exception,  they  constitute  an  unac- 
countable anomaly.  (3)  The  term  "mystery" — "the 
mystery  of  the  seven  stars  .  .  .  and  of  the  seven 
golden  candlesticks"  (i:  20) — points  to  the  hidden 
meaning  of  the  symbols,  "  the  sacred  secret  signified 
by  them"  (Lyra).  (4)  The  mystic  use  of  the  num- 
ber seven  throughout  the  book  that  in  every  instance 
denotes  completeness,  perfection,  clearly  indicates  the 
symbolic  character  of  these  chapters.  (5)  The  con- 
tents of  the  messages  contemplate  the  whole  church 
and  its  entire  history,  as  the  repeated  announcement 
of  Christ's  coming  proves,  ii:  16,  25;  iii:  3,  ii.  (6) 
The  appeal  to  "  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the 
churches "  attests  the  same  truth,  the  language  in- 
cludes the  whole  body  (cf.  i:  19,  20;  iv:  i;  xxii:  6, 
16).  Not  a  single  church  is  exhorted,  but  all  "the 
churches." 

Each  of  the  seven  had  marked  peculiarities  and 
characteristic  features  that  cannot  be  restricted  to 
one  local  assembly,  for  they  foreshadow  the  like 
state  in  the  church  universal  to  the  close  of  the  dis- 
pensation. A  study  of  their  moral  condition,  how- 
ever brief  and  cursory,  will  serve  to  show  that  their 
excellencies  and  their  defects  so  faithfully  and  un- 
sparingly pointed  out  by  the  glorified  Lord  cannot 
be  applied  exclusively  to  the  close  of  the  apostolic 
age.  They  have  reproduced  themselves  in  the  pro- 
fessing body  in  all  the  subsequent  centuries  down  to 
the  present  day. 

The  "  angel  "of  Ephesus  (i.  e.,  Christ's  messenger 


EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES.       49 

and  representative,  certainly  not  a  heavenly  being  nor 
a  Diocesan  Bishop  who  had  no  existence  in  the  first 
century,  but  the  responsible  pastor),  is  both  praised 
and  censured.  The  praise  is  cordial,  and  the  censure 
tender  but  unsparing.  Ephesus  was  the  mother  of 
the  Asian  churches,  and  the  titles  our  Lord  here  takes 
describe  His  supreme  authority  and  His  abiding  pres- 
ence. This  assembly  was  zealous  in  every  good  work, 
steadfast  in  its  testimony,  patient  under  trial,  intol- 
erant of  false  teachers ;  but  she  had  declined  from  her 
first  love,  she  had  "  fallen."  Will  any  deny  that  the 
like  condition  is  exhibited  in  evangelical  bodies  of  the 
present  time?  Zeal,  activity  in  service  and  works  of 
all  sorts  predominate ;  but  is  love  for  Christ,  the  long- 
ing to  see  Him,  to  be  with  Him,  to  be  filled  with  His 
loving  presence  what  it  once  was  or  should  be  ? 

Smyrna  (ii:  8-1 1)  is  the  martyr  church,  and  rep- 
resents suffering.  "  Tribulation  for  ten  days "  may 
foreshadow  the  persecutions  under  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, but  must  not  be  confined  to  that  period.  Smyrna 
prefigures  the  suffering  the  people  of  God  endure 
through  their  entire  history.  The  Lord's  titles  here, 
as  in  every  message,  are  exactly  adapted  to  the  state 
of  the  church.  He  is  the  first  and  the  last,  who  was 
dead  and  is  alive  again;  and  His  servants  who  suffer 
and  die  for  His  name  shall  also  live  again. 

A  serious  condition  is  found  at  Pergamum,  ii:  12- 
17.  She  dwells  where  "  Satan's  throne  is."  At 
Pergamum  Satan  was  enthroned  and  held  his  court. 
The  reference  is,  probably,  to  the  new  Caesar-worship 
which  was  fast  spreading  over  the  Roman  world.  It 
4 


50  THE  REVELATION. 

was  pre-eminent  at  Pergamum  (Profs.  Ramsay, 
Swete).  The  fanatical  and  jealous  Domitian  ex- 
erted his  vast  power  to  advance  the  absurd  cult,  and 
he  sought  by  wily  schemes  to  have  himself  wor- 
shipped as  a  god !  The  insidious  plea  was :  "  What 
evil  is  there  in  saying,  *  Lord  Caesar,'  or  burning  a  few 
grains  of  incense  before  his  statue?  "  But  this  would 
be  idolatrous,  would  be  to  "  commit  fornication,"  and 
to  deny  Christ!  There  were  those  there  who  taught 
this  vile  doctrine — "  the  teaching  of  Balaam,"  who 
taught  Balak  to  allure  Israel  to  their  ruin  when  he  could 
not  obtain  the  Lord's  permission  to  curse  them.  Alli- 
ance with  the  world  is  chiefly  meant.  The  roaring  lion 
is  exchanged  for  the  serpent,  the  adversary  for  the 
deceiver.  Persecution,  painful  as  it  is,  is  not  so  per- 
ilous as  worldly  alliance.  When  Constantine  recog- 
nized Christianity,  when  he  sat  in  the  Council  of 
Nicea  as  an  adviser,  the  fatal  way  to  union  of  church 
and  state  began  to  be  prepared.  Pergamum  thus 
becomes  a  prophetic  symbol  of  the  Christian  Body 
in  its  lamentable  connection  with  the  godless  World- 
power. 

A  more  subtle  danger  appears  in  Thyatira,  ii:  i8- 
29.  The  virus  in  this  church  is  the  crafty  teaching 
of  the  Woman  Jezebel.  She  calls  herself  a  proph- 
etess, she  seduces  and  corrupts  the  new  people  of  God 
as  Ahab's  heathen  wife  did  both  her  husband  and  Is- 
rael. It  is  not  necessary  we  should  understand  that 
a  veritable  woman  lived  and  wrought  her  evil  in  Thy- 
atira, although  the  reading,  "  thy  wife  Jezebel,"  is 
well  supported,  and  is  very  suggestive.     The  language 


EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES.        511 

is  symbolical;  the  meaning  of  the  symbol  is  unmis- 
takable; it  points  to  a  wicked  influence,  seductive, 
secret,  powerful,  that,  if  unchecked,  would  subvert 
the  whole  testimony  of  the  church  and  lead  these  con- 
verted heathen  straight  back  into  idolatry  with  all  its 
impure  practices.  Thyatira  typically  with  this  proph- 
etess teaching  and  debasing  and  corrupting  is  the 
Lord's  adumbration  of  the  rise  and  reign  of  Popery, 
a  system  idolatrous  and  persecuting,  Jezebel-like,  prac- 
ticing its  wickedness  under  a  religious  disguise. 

A  faithful  remnant  in  Thyatira  is  recognized  and 
separated  from  the  mass  of  the  professing  body — 
"  But  to  you  I  say,  to  the  rest,"  ver.  24.  They  are 
the  historical  types  of  those  Christians  who  through 
the  centuries  stood  aloof  from  unfaithful  Christendom 
and  who  worshipped  God  in  spirit  and  truth. 

All  this  evinces  the  predictive  character  of  the 
Seven  Messages  and  Churches. 

But  may  not  these  Seven  Churches  mark  off  proph- 
etically seven  periods  or  stages  in  the  church's  history 
from  the  Apostles  to  the  end  of  the  dispensation? 
So  many  think,  from  Joseph  Mede  and  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  to  the  present  time.  There  is  harmony 
among  these  writers  as  to  the  fact  of  such  periods, 
there  is  not  as  to  the  exact  periods  covered  by  them. 
Perhaps  the  nearest  to  uniformity  is  found  in  the  fol- 
lowing temporal  partition:  Ephesus  prefigures  the 
apostolic  age  closing  with  the  first  century:  Smyrna, 
the  age  of  the  persecutions,  the  martyr  time  from  A.  D. 
100  to  A.  D.  325 :  Pergamos,  church  and  state  united, 
to  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century :  Thyatira,  the  Mid- 


52  THE  REVELATION. 

die  Ages :  Sardis,  the  times  succeeding  the  Reformation, 
from  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  to  the  latter  half 
of  the  eighteenth :  Philadelphia,  to  about  our  own  time : 
Laodicea,  the  last  period  when  rejection  and  judgment 
take  place  and  the  End  arrives.  The  Laodicean  stage 
is  still  future,  though  there  are  unmistakable  symp- 
toms and  premonitions  that  it  has  almost  arrived. 

The  above  distribution  is  not  altogether  satisfac- 
tory, for  it  is  not  historically  accurate.  For  example, 
Smyrna  undoubtedly  marks  the  period  of  martyrdom, 
but  two  of  the  most  virulent  and  frightful  persecu- 
tions which  the  Church  has  ever  suffered  occurred  in 
the  first  century,  under  Nero  and  Domitian.  And 
long  after  Constantine  and  the  so-called  conversion 
of  the  Roman  Empire  to  Christianity,  uncounted  mul- 
titudes of  the  purest  and  the  best  of  God's  servants  on 
earth  went  to  the  stake  or  were  slain  by  the  sword 
during  the  Middle  Ages  and  every  century  since. 
Smyrna  cannot  rightly  be  confined  to  the  time  be- 
tween A.  D.  100-325. 

No  more  can  Sardis  (iii:  1-6)  be  restricted  to 
post-Reformation  times,  as  some  would  fain  have  us 
believe.  For  while  a  dead  formalism  pervaded 
Christendom  in  the  17th  and  i8th  centuries,  it  was 
by  no  means  universal,  as  the  Pietists  of  Germany, 
the  Huguenots  of  France,  and  the  Puritans  of  Britain 
attest.  "  Thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art 
dead "  describes  far  more  closely  the  dark  period 
lying  between  the  Pontifical  savages  and  pagans, 
Popes  Innocent  III  and  Leo  X — a  period  of  some 
three  centuries.    In  the  hundred  years  preceding  the 


EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES. 


53 


Reformation  (A.  D.  1410-1510)  the  Roman  See  sank 
down  to  the  lowest  point  in  infamy  that  it  has  ever 
reached.  Four  Popes,  "  each  worse  than  the  others  " 
(as  ItaHans  say),  by  their  loathsome  characters  and 
their  foul  deeds,  stamped  that  century  with  eternal 
disgrace.  They  were  known  as  John  XXIII,  Sixtus 
IV,  Innocent  VIII,  and  Alexander  VI.  It  was  the 
deplorable  state  into  which  the  church  had  fallen  that 
made  the  Reformation  a  necessity  if  Christianity  were 
to  survive.  No  interpretation  of  the  Seven  Churches 
which  contradicts  church  history  can  be  right.  The 
Sardis  condition  belongs  to  pre-Re formation  times 
rather  than  to  any  stage  in  the  history  of  Protestant- 
ism. The  Seven  Churches  do  mark  stages  of  his- 
tory, but  often  they  overlap,  two  or  more  of  them 
covering  the  same  period.  Indeed,  they  are  mirrors 
in  which  the  condition  of  the  universal  church  may  see 
itself  reflected  at  any  stage  of  its  existence. 

The  characteristics  of  the  church  of  Philadelphia 
distinguish  our  day — so  some  rashly  assert.  It  is  a 
joy  to  know  that  there  are  multitudes  of  Christians 
whose  fidelity,  devotion  and  hope  for  the  Lord's 
speedy  coming  entitle  them  to  rank  as  saints  of  the 
Philadelphian  type.  But  side  by  side  with  these  are 
other  multitudes,  called  Christians,  who  exhibit  the 
worst  features  found  in  Pergamum,  in  Thyatira,  in 
Sardis,  and  in  Laodicea.  Let  us  not  be  blinded  either 
by  a  false  optimism  or  a  stupid  pessimism.  We  believe 
that  all  the  phases  of  these  seven  assemblies  of  Asia 
co-exist  in  our  day.  The  last  two  of  the  Seven,  viz. : 
Philadelphia  and  Laodicea,  demand  a  more  extended 


54  THE  REVELATION. 

study  than  can  here  be  given  them.  Some  remarks, 
however,  touching  them  are  submitted,  for  it  is  be- 
lieved that  misapprehension  of  the  Lord's  messages 
to  them  largely  prevails. 

Philadelphia.  Christ  promises  to  keep  those  who 
keep  the  word  of  His  patience  (iii:  lo).  The  prom- 
ise is  to  keep  them  from  the  *'  hour  (season)  of  temp- 
tation (trial),  that  hour  which  is  to  come  upon  the 
whole  world,  to  try  (tempt)  them  that  dwell  upon 
the  earth,"  iii :  lo.  Noteworthy  is  the  term  "  trial," 
or  "  temptation."  It  is  not  named  the  tribulation  so 
often  mentioned  in  prophetic  Scripture  (vii:  14;  Matt, 
xxiv:  21;  Mark  xiii:  19,  etc.),  but  trial.  No  doubt 
it  is  closely  associated  with  the  Great  Tribulation,  but 
the  word  here  used  seems  deliberately  chosen,  and 
points  to  the  frightful  dangers  and  temptations  to 
which  God's  people  will  be  exposed  at  the  time  of  the 
End.  We  know  from  Rev.  xiii:  13-15,  2  Thess.  ii: 
9-12,  that  portentous  "  signs  "  and  lying  "  wonders  " 
and  the  "  deceit  of  unrighteousness,"  wrought  by  the 
Beast  and  the  False  Prophet,  will  daze  and  fascinate 
vast  throngs  of  men,  nay,  we  are  told  the  world  itself 
will  "  wonder  after  the  beast,"  and  "  worship  "  him. 
There  will  be  believers  who  must  face  that  tremendous 
peril.  This  will  be  their  trial — deny  God,  or  die.  It  is 
the  troublous  time  which  immediately  precedes  the 
Advent.  Hence  Christ  adds,  "  I  come  quickly."  It  is 
the  End-time,  the  close  of  the  Church  period  and  of 
the  dispensation. 

But  how  will  he  keep  these  saints  from  the  hour  of 
trial?    Many   excellent    students    of    the    Revelation 


EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES.        55 

answer,  By  taking  them  away  from  earth  into  heaven. 
Accordingly,  they  find  here  in  this  promise  the  "  rap- 
ture "  of  I  Thess.  iv:  16,  17.  In  such  case  these  saints 
do  not  go  into  the  trial  at  all,  the  rapture  antedates 
the  trial  by  some  short  space  of  time,  some  say  seven 
years,  others  make  it  longer.  It  would  be  a  blessed 
thing  if  this  view  could  be  substantiated,  but  it  can- 
not. The  language  of  the  promise  itself  is  fatal  to 
it :  "I  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temptation 
which  Cometh,"  etc.  The  natural  and  obvious  mean- 
ing is,  the  safekeeping  of  them  in  the  midst  of  world- 
wide trial,  not  exemption  from  it  by  being  caught  up 
to  heaven.  The  preposition  "out  of"  (ek)  signifies 
exactly  this,  and  not  rapture  before  the  trial  begins. 
In  all  John's  writings  there  is  but  one  parallel  passage 
with  this:  Jno.  xvii:  15,  "I  pray  not  that  thou 
shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou 
shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil."  "  Keep  them 
from  the  evil  "  is  identical  in  structure  with  "  keep 
them  from  the  hour  of  trial."  None  can  possibly 
mistake  what  the  Lord  meant  in  His  prayer:  His  dis- 
ciples were  to  remain  in  the  world,  but  He  asks  that 
they  be  kept  from  its  evil,  or  from  the  evil  one  who 
is  its  god.  So  precisely  in  Rev.  iii:  10,  Philadel- 
phian  saints  are  to  be  in  the  trial,  but  safeguarded 
therein.  This  explanation  is  confirmed  by  the  words 
that  follow :  "  Behold  I  come  quickly :  hold  fast  that 
which  thou  hast,  that  no  one  take  thy  crown."  Christ 
lays  upon  them  the  responsibility  of  vigilance,  of  con- 
tinual effort.  Each  church,  Philadelphia  no  less  than 
the  others,  is  called  to  guard  its  own  inheritance,  lest 


^  THE  REVELATION. 

through  unfaithfulness  or  apathy  it  lose  its  crown. 
The  solemn  exhortation  involves  the  fact  of  trial  and 
of  danger.  Philadelphia  is  to  be  in  the  trial,  but  kept 
safely  in  it,  not  raptured  away  before  the  trial  begins. 

Laodicea.  This  is  the  last  stage  and  the  worst  of 
all,  the  most  hopeless.  Christ  stands  here  without, 
as  if  shut  out  of  His  own  house,  a  stranger  who 
knocks  at  His  own  door  for  admittance.  He  inti- 
mates that  the  condition  now  reached  has  become  in- 
tolerable, nauseating;  rejection  and  judgment  are  held 
back  only  so  long  as  He  waits  and  knocks.  Obvi- 
ously when  this  deplorable  state  is  reached  the  "  fall- 
ing away  "  (apostasy)  of  2  Thess.  ii:  3  is  at  the  flood; 
the  world  is  ripe  for  the  parousia  of  the  Man  of  Sin 
and  the  day  of  Christ. 

There  is  some  resemblance  between  this  Laodicea 
condition  and  "  Babylon,"  the  great  Harlot  of  chaps, 
xvii,  xviii.  Laodicea  boasts  of  her  wealth  and  her 
self-sufficiency,  totally  oblivious  of  her  true  state  as 
wretched,  poor,  blind  and  naked  (iii:  17).  The  Har- 
lot's proud  boast  is,  "  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow, 
and  shall  see  no  sorrow."  She  is  decked  with  gold, 
precious  stones,  with  purple  and  scarlet  (xviii:  7,  16), 
rich  and  contented  as  Laodicea.  The  Lord's  call, 
"  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers 
of  her  sins^  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues  " 
(xviii:  4),  is  much  like  that  to  Laodicea,  "Behold, 
I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock:  if  any  man  hear  my 
voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  into  him,  and  sup 
with  him,  and  he  with  me"  (iii:  20).  There  are 
saints   in   Babylon,   and   in   Laodicea  likewise.    The 


EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES.        57 

whole  attitude  of  the  Saviour  before  this  Seventh 
Church  indicates  that  He  has  people  in  it,  that  these 
His  people  must  be  separated  from  the  corrupt  and 
apostate  company  before  His  judgment  falls.  And 
the  same  thing  happens  precisely  with  those  associ- 
ated with  Babylon.  These,  too,  are  called  out  before 
the  wrath  falls  on  the  guilty  apostates.  Further  on 
in  this  study  we  shall  see  that  there  are  martyrs  in  the 
Great  Tribulation,  and  there  are  those  who  are  kept 
safely  in  it,  as  e.  g.,  144,000  sealed  ones  (Rev.  vii: 
ii-8),  and  the  believers  of  Philadelphia  (iii:  7-12). 
They  are  in  the  trial,  but  are  safely  guarded  in  it. 

The  conclusion  is:  The  Seven  Churches  and  the 
Messages  addressed  to  them  cover  the  whole  church 
period,  from  the  writing  of  the  Apocalypse  down  to 
the  final  consummation,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord. 
The  three  great  septinary  visions  of  the  Seals,  Trum- 
pets and  Vials  also  terminate  in  the  final  consumma- 
tion. Each  of  them  ends  with  the  signal  event  of  the 
book,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord.  But  the  difference 
between  these  four  sets  of  sevens  is  very  marked,  and 
briefly  is  this:  the  Seven  Churches  embrace  in  their 
typical  characteristics  the  entire  dispensation  lying 
between  the  apostolic  age  and  the  Second  Advent. 
The  visions  of  the  Seals,  Trumpets  and  Vials  relate, 
in  their  full  accomplishment,  to  the  events  which  shall 
signalize  the  closing  scenes  of  the  age.  These  latter 
gather  into  a  comparatively  brief  period  of  time  just 
before  Christ  comes. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Vision  of  Heaven  Opened,  chaps,  iv,  v. 

"After  these  things  I  saw,  and  behold  a  door  opened 
in  heaven,"  iv:  i,  R.  V.  The  phrase,  "after  these 
things,"  denotes  apparently  the  transition  from  one 
vision  to  another  (vii:  i,  9;  xv:  5;  xviii:  i;  xix:  i). 
Even  i :  19,  held  by  many  to  be  the  division  of  the  book, 
probably  means  the  past,  present  and  future  as  to 
visions,  not  the  past,  present  and  future  of  history, 
for  much  of  chaps  ii,  iii  relates  to  the  future  of  the 
churcbes,  not  to  the  present  alone.  The  phrase  marks 
the  succession  of  the  visions  and  not  of  time.  The  last 
clause  of  iv:  i,  "things  which  must  be  hereafter,"  is 
explained  by  Dan.  ii:  28,  45.  The  visions  of  chaps, 
iv-vii:  i  appear  to  be  denoted  by  it.  (The  Greek 
text  of  W.  &  H.  and  the  margins  of  Eng.  and  Amer. 
revisions  punctuate  thus :  "  come  to  pass.  After  these 
things  straightway,"  etc.,  which  yields  excellent  sense.) 

Grouped  round  about  the  resplendent  central 
Throne,  the  Seer  beheld  four  and  twenty  other  thrones, 
lower,  no  doubt,  upon  which  were  seated  four  and 
twenty  Elders  clothed  in  white  raiment,  and  on  their 
heads  crowns  of  gold.  It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  de- 
termine who,  or  what  these  Elders  are.  The  majority 
of  writers  think  they  represent  the  redeemed  of  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testament  epochs,  twelve  symboliz- 
ing one  section,  twelve  the  other  of  our  race.    There 

58 


ViSrON  OF  HEAVEN  OPENED.  59 

are  some  who  believe  they  may  be  princely  leaders  of 
the  heavenly  hosts  of  un fallen  spirits  in  heavenly  wor- 
ship (Craven  in  Lange).  The  language  employed 
respecting  them,  the  language  they  themselves  em- 
ploy is  quite  remarkable.  The  text  of  Revelation 
agreed  upon  by  the  English  and  American  Revisers, 
and  the  latest  critical  Greek  text  of  Westcott  and 
Hort,  of  Weymouth  and  Nestle  (not  to  mention 
others),  presents  a  significant  divergence  from  that  of 
King  James.  In  the  revised  version  of  v:  9,  we  are 
bidden  read  thus :  *'  Worthy  art  thou  to  take  the  book, 
and  to  open  the  seals  thereof;  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 
didst  purchase  unto  God  with  thy  blood  men  of  every 
tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,  and  madest 
them  to  be  unto  our  God  a  kingdom  and  priests;  and 
they  reign  upon  the  earth."  This  was  the  "  new  song  " 
sung  by  the  Elders  and  the  four  living  beings  to  the 
Lamb.  They  do  not  associate  themselves  with  saved 
men  in  this  hymn  of  praise;  they  actually  appear  to 
place  themselves  apart  from  the  redeemed.  In  chap, 
vii:  9,  10,  the  unnumbered  throng  of  the  redeemed 
from  among  men  sing  their  glad  hossanah,  "  Salva- 
tion unto  our  God  which  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb."  But  the  Elders,  and  angels,  and  liv- 
ing beings  do  not  join  in  it,  they  sing  a  different  song 
from  this  of  the  saved.  Moreover,  one  of  the  Elders 
said  to  John,  "  These  which  are  arrayed  in  the  white 
robes,  who  are  they,  and  whence  came  they  ?  "  He 
himself  explains,  vii:  13-15;  but  this  explanation  seems 
to  set  a  wide  distinction  between  himself  and  the  white- 
robed  company.    Indeed,  in  every  passage  where  the 


6o  THE  REVELATION. 

voice  of  the  Elders  and  of  the  four  living  beings  is 
heard,  they  are  not  united  with  the  redeemed  (iv:  ii; 
v:  12,  xi:  17;  xix:  4).  The  Elders  are  enthroned  and 
crowned,  but  the  souls  of  the  martyrs — certainly  the 
noblest  portion  of  the  redeemed — are  seen  beneath  the 
altar,  vi:  9-1 1,  as  if  they  were  still  in  the  state  of 
martyrdom,  their  blood  being  at  the  altar's  bottom  like 
that  of  sacrificial  victims.  They  are  disembodied 
spirits,  they  have  had  as  yet  no  resurrection  nor 
reward.  Accordingly,  the  Elders  cannot  be  the  totality 
of  the  redeemed  already  raised  up  and  glorified,  for 
here  are  saints  still  in  the  disembodied  state,  who 
are  distinct  from  the  Elders^  and  who  are  unglorified. 
And  other  martyrs  are  to  follow  these,  vi :  ii. 

The  best  explanation  of  the  vision  of  the  Elders 
we  have  seen  is  by  Dr.  Swete,  in  his  very  recent  com- 
mentary on  the  Apocalypse  (1906-7),  and  it  is  em- 
bodied in  this  sentence :  "  The  twenty- four  Elders 
are  the  Church  in  its  totality,  but  the  Church  idealized 
and,  therefore,  seen  as  already  clad  in  white,  crowned, 
and  enthroned  in  the  Divine  Presence — a  state  yet 
future  (must  be  hereafter),  but  already  potentially 
realized  in  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  the  Head, 
of.  Eph.  ii :  6." 

The  four  living  creatures,  iv :  6-8.  "  Beasts  "  of 
A.  V.  is  most  unfortunate  as  a  translation,  for  these 
beings  are  neither  brutes  nor  wild  beasts  like  the  two 
described  in  chap.  xiii.  These  are  distinguished  for 
their  vitality,  their  intense  livingness,  as  their  name 
(aoa)  indicates,  for  their  activity  in  the  worship  and 
service  of  God,  and  for  their  composite  appearance. 


VISION  OF  HEAVEN  OPENED.  "61' 

They  have  the  faces  and  forms  of  the  lion,  the  calf, 
man,  and  the  eagle — the  recognized  heads  of  the 
animal  creation,  "  The  four  forms  suggest  what  is 
noblest,  strongest,  wisest  and  swiftest  in  animate 
nature."  Their  appearance  seems  to  denote  that 
they  are  the  symbols,  in  some  mysterious  and  pro- 
found way^  of  creation  in  its  manifoldness  and 
greatness.  They  closely  resemble  the  Cherubim  of 
Ezek.  i;  but  there  are  marked  differences.  Those  of 
Ezekiel  are  seen  in  the  midst  of  an  "  infolding  fire," 
which  has  no  parallel  in  Rev.  iv.  Ezekiel's  has  each 
four  wings;  these  of  Rev.  have  six  each.  In  this 
they  approach  the  Seraphim  of  Isa.  vi:  2.  Both  here 
and  in  Ezekiel  they  are  associated  with  the  throne 
of  God.  In  chap,  vi:  1-8,  they  are  represented  as  in 
some  sense  the  executors  of  the  Divine  Will;  they 
summon  the  four  riders  with  their  authoritative  Come. 
They  appear  to  be  connected  with  the  providential 
judgments  of  God,  are  seen  doing  the  behests  of  Him 
who  is  enthroned^  about  whom  they  stand  as  guards, 
or  like  a  military  staff.  They  are  full  of  eyes,  symbol 
of  wondrous  intelligence  and  sleepless  vigilance. 

What  do  they  symbolize?  Certainly  not  the  Four 
Gosples,  as  some  suppose;  nor  four  great  Apostles; 
as  Peter,  James,  John,  Paul ;  nor  redeemed  humanity. 
They  may  be  symbols  either  of  the  Forces  of  Nature 
through  which  God's  will  is  accomplished,  or  hiero- 
glyphs of  certain  chief  attributes;  as,  righteousness, 
truth,  power  and  mercy. 

The  Sealed  Book  and  the  Lamb,  v:  1-14.  The  book 
which  John  saw  was  no  ordinary  roll.     It  rested  on 


62  THE  REVELATION. 

the  right  hand  of  Him  who  sat  on  the  Throne,  as  if 
held  forth  to  be  taken  and  opened.  It  was  written  both 
within  and  on  the  back;  it  was  close  sealed  with  seven 
seals.  The  solemn  challenge  by  a  strong  angel  rang 
out  in  heaven^  "  Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  book,  and 
to  loose  the  seals  thereof  ?  "  No  created  being  in  the 
whole  universe  was  able  to  look  upon  it,  much  less  to 
open  it.  One  alone  was — One  with  the  significant 
titles,  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  "  the  Root  of 
David,"  "  the  Lamb  that  was  slain."  It  is  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  He  is  able  to  take  the  book,  and  to  loose 
its  seals.  For  His  is  the  perfection  of  power ;  His  seven 
horns  denote  it;  His  is  the  perfection  of  intelligence; 
His  seven  eyes  are  the  proof;  His  perfect  right  to 
sovereignty  and  supremacy  rests  in  this — He  died  and 
rose  again ;  He  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  He  "  hath 
overcome  (Gk.  achieved  the  victory)  to  open  the  book 
and  the  seven  seals  thereof." 

The  meaning  of  this  sublime  vision  is  not  far  to 
seek.  This  chapter,  as  also  the  succeeding  visions,  in- 
dicates with  unmistakable  clearness  the  significance  of 
the  heavenly  transaction.  There  is  no  hint  that  the 
book  was  read,  that  its  contents  were  disclosed.  We 
are  told  of  the  events  which  succeed  the  opening  of 
the  seals,  but  of  the  contents  written  within  it  nothing 
is  said.  Did  the  book  contain  the  events?  Doubtful. 
It  would  be  unwarranted  to  affirm  so  much.  The 
august  transaction  should  be  studied  as  a  whole,  not 
any  particular  feature  of  it. 

Beyond  all  doubt  the  vision  is  of  transcendent  im- 
port.   Men  differ  as  to  what  it  means  and  all  it  means. 


VISION  OF  HEAVEN  OPENED.  63 

The  view  that  commends  itself  to  the  writer  as  being 
the  most   satisfactory  is  this:    The  Heavenly   scene 
here  described  represents  Christ's  investiture  of  sov- 
ereign authority  and  rule  as  the  rightful  Governor  of 
the  world,  the  King  and  Lord  of  every  realm  and  of 
every  region.     Supreme  authority  was  conferred  on 
Him   at   His   exaltation    (Matt,    xxviii:    18;   Eph.   i: 
20-23 ;  Phil,  ii:  9-11),  but  He  did  not  at  that  time  take 
full  possession  of  all  His  rights  and  prerogatives ;  some 
He  held  in  abeyance.     He  is  now  seated  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  God  (Heb.  i:  3;  xii:  2;  Rev. 
iii.  21  etc.).     He  is  there  as  Mediator,  conducting  the 
vast  and  manifold  interests  of  His  redemptive  work. 
But  He  is  there  also  "  expecting  till  his  enemies  be 
made  the  footstool  of  his  feet,"  Heb.  x:  12,  13.      The 
2d  and  the  iioth  Psalms  expressly  teach  that  a  day 
shall  come  when  God  will  give  to  His  Son  the  heathen 
for  His  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  His  possession;  when  He  will  subdue  them 
all  under  His  feet ;  when  He  shall  rule  in  the  midst  of 
His  enemies,  and  judge  among  the  nations.     Peter 
affirms  that  the  heavens  must  receive  Christ  until  the 
times  of  restoration  of  all  things  (Acts  iii:  20,  21). 
Scripture  teaches  that  there  comes  a  time  in  the  prose- 
cution of  His  work  when  Christ  will  take  unto  Him- 
self His  great  power  and  will  reign;  when  He  will 
put    down    all    authority    and    rule;    when    He    will 
establish  His  glorious  Kingdom  in  victorious  power 
over  the  entire  planet,  and  He  alone  will  be  the  King 
of  kings,   and   the   Lord   of  lords.     In   this   august 
scene  that  time  has  arrived.    Christ  takes  the  sealed 


64  THE  REVELATION. 

book  out  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  It  is  the 
"  title-deed "  to  the  inheritance  which  He  has  pur- 
chased by  His  obedience  unto  death,  as  the  Elders  and 
the  Living  Beings  sing,  v :  9 :  "  Worthy  art  thou  to 
take  the  book  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof:  for  thou 
wast  slaiUj  and  didst  purchase  unto  God  with  thy 
blood,"  etc.  The  angelic  hosts  chant  the  like  song: 
"  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  hath  been  slain  to  receive 
the  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  might,  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing"  (v:  12).  Groaning 
creation  now  at  length  feels  the  first  thrill  of  the  prom- 
ised deliverance,  and  sings  its  glad  song  of  hope  and 
expectation :  "  Unto  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  the  blessing,  and  the  honor,  and 
the  glory,  and  the  dominion,  for  ever  and  ever"  (v: 
13,  14).  All  created  beings  join  in  this  glad  song, 
for  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession  has 
now  at  length  come. 

All  these  tuneful  ascriptions  of  praise  to  the  Lamb 
of  God  attest  the  profound  significance  of  the  heavenly 
transaction.  A  mighty  change  is  here  indicated  in  the 
mediatorial  work  of  our  Lord.  Christ  now  at  length 
in  infinite  majesty  and  power  begins  to  recover  the 
alienated  inheritance,  to  clear  it  of  every  incumbrance, 
to  put  down  every  foe,  to  destroy  all  hostile  forces,  and 
to  rule  unchallenged  over  all.  Hitherto  He  hath  been 
seated  at  God's  right  hand,  ''expecting,"  Heb.  x:  12. 
But  in  this  vision  He  is  seen  standing  before  the 
Throne  as  if  the  appointed  time  has  come,  and  the 
glorious  Kingdom  is  now  to  be  established,  and  the 
millennium  be  brought  in.       Accordingly,  it  is  from 


VISION  OF  HEAVEN  OPENED.  '65 

this  point  that  the  supreme  prophetic  action  of  the 
book  begins  its  course,  and  it  runs  on  to  the  final  con- 
summation. Chaps,  iv,  V,  are  thus  introductory  to 
and  explanatory  of  all  that  follows,  they  are  essential 
to  any  adequate  understanding  of  the  book. 

Dan.  vii:  9-14  points  to  the  same  great  transaction 
recorded  in  Rev.  v.  One  who  is  named  "Ancient  of 
Days"  (God  the  Father)  sits  upon  a  Throne  from 
which  stream  fiery  flames,  and  about  which  stand 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  angelic  hosts  ministering 
unto  Him.  A  secret  judgment  is  pronounced  on  the 
Little  Horn  and  the  Beast,  and  the  doom  of  both  is 
irrevocably  pronounced,  vii:  9-12.  Verses  13,  14, 
introduce  a  scene  marvellously  akin  to  that  described 
in  Rev.  v :  "  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold, 
there  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven  one  like  unto  a 
son  of  man,  and  he  came  even  to  the  ancient  of  Days, 
and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.  And  there 
was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
that  all  peoples,  nations  and  languages  should  serve 
him,"  cf.  vers.  26,  27.  The  Son  of  Man,  Jesus 
Christ,  is  here  represented  as  coming  into  the  place  of 
judicature,  and  there  receiving  investiture  of  the  ever- 
lasting Kingdom.  His  investiture  immediately  pre- 
cedes His  coming  forth  to  crush  the  Beast,  to  annihi- 
late the  Antichrist  (the  Little  Horn),  and  His  taking 
the  Kingdom  for  the  saints  of  the  Most  High.  This 
vision  in  Daniel  appears  to  be  exactly  parallel  with  that 
of  John. 

The  parable  of  the  Nobleman  (Luke  xix:  11-27) 
points  to  the  same  supreme  event  as  the  vision  of  Dan- 


56  THE    REVELATION. 

iel.  "A  certain  nobleman  went  into  a  far  country 
to  receive  for  himself  a  kingdom,  and  to  return  .  .  . 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  was  come  back  again, 
having  received  the  kingdom,"  etc.  No  one  can 
question  that  the  Nobleman  represents  Christ  Him- 
self. The  far  country  to  which  He  went  is  heaven. 
The  kingdom  He  went  to  receive  is  the  same  glorious 
kingdom  predicted  in  Dan.  vii,  '*  a  kingdom  that  all 
people,  nations,  and  languages  should  serve  him." 
The  parable  teaches  that  this  kingdom  shall  come  to 
victorious  power  over  all  the  earth,  when  the  King 
Himself,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  shall  "  return."  The 
words,  "  having  received  the  kingdom,"  seem  to  de- 
note His  investiture  of  the  kingdom.  His  right  and 
title  to  take  it,  and  to  establish  His  sovereign  rule  over 
the  world. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  this  majestic  scene 
so  graphically  portrayed  in  Rev.  v,  when  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain,  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah, 
receives  investiture  of  the  kingdom,  has  not  yet  taken 
place.  The  proof  of  this  statement  is  twofold:  (a) 
the  successive  opening  of  the  seven  Seals  is  connected 
with  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  at  the  time  of  the  End. 
The  sixth  and  the  seventh  Seals  make  this  absolutely 
certain.  No  time  seems  to  elapse  between  taking  the 
book  and  opening  the  Seals.  Upon  taking  the  book 
He  at  once  proceeds  to  open  its  Seals.  But  the  open- 
ing of  the  Seals  ushers  in  the  "  signs "  which  im- 
mediately precede  the  Advent^  Rev.  vi:  12-17;  viii:  5; 
Matt,  xxiv:  29-31;  Mar.  xiii:  24-27;  Lu.  xxi:  25-28. 


VISION  OF  HEAVEN  OPENED.  '67 

'(b)  Both  Daniel  (vii)  and  the  Lord  (Lu.  xix)  con- 
nect the  triumphant  estabhshment  of  the  Kingdom 
over  all  the  world  with  Christ's  Coming.  Hence,  the 
investiture  immediately  precedes  the  Advent. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
The  Opening  of  the  Seven  Seals,  vi-viii:  1-5. 

Mighty  movements  on  earth  follow  the  successive 
breaking  of  the  Seals.  At  the  repeated  cry  of  the 
Living  Creatures,  Come,  four  horsemen  in  rapid  suc- 
cession set  forth  on  their  mission.  Each  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  others  by  the  color  of  his  horse 
and  by  what  he  carries.  The  first  rider  has  a  bow, 
his  horse  is  white,  and  to  him  as  an  unfailing  con- 
queror a  crown  is  given.  He  is  a  victorious,  military 
chieftain.  The  second  carries  a  great  sword,  his 
horse  is  red,  and  it  is  given  him  to  take  peace  from 
the  earth.  He  is  the  personification  of  war.  The 
third  rides  a  black  horse,  and  bears  a  pair  of  ballances. 
He  prefigures  famine,  scarcity,  though  it  is  not  al- 
together total.  The  fourth  rider  is  Death,  and  Hades 
as  a  devouring  demon  follows  at  his  heels;  his  horse 
is  pale,  and  he  has  power  to  kill  with  the  sword,  and 
with  hunger,  and  with  death  (or  pestilence),  and  with 
the  wild  beasts. 

What  do  these  strange,  mystic  horsemen  signify? 
What  do  they  represent?  Of  course  they  are  sym- 
bolic, and  must  be  so  understood,  but  they  are  intended 
to  picture  a  dread  reality;  they  are  to  have  their 
realization  in  historical  time.  To  interpret  it  as  a 
vision  of  the  victorious  Christ  by  His  Gospel  sub- 
duing the  world  is  totally  inappropriate,  for  the  whole 

68 


OPENING  OF  THE  SEVEN  SEALS.  69 

series  of  horsemen,  as  well  as  the  other  Seals,  are 
connected  with  war,  bloodshed,  famine,  pestilence, 
and  death.  This  cannot  be  the  image  of  the  gracious 
Prince  of  Peace  sending  forth  by  His  messengers  the 
Gospel  of  His  grace.  Rather  we  have  here  a  picture 
of  triumphant  militarism.  Matt,  xxiv:  5-14  brings 
no  little  aid  to  the  understanding  of  this  vision.  Our 
Lord  tells  us  that  there  shall  come  false  Christs  (the 
first  rider  amazingly  resembles  a  mock  Messiah),  and 
there  shall  be  wars,  and  famines,  and  pestilence,  and 
earthquakes,  nations  shall  be  in  commotion  and  rev- 
olution, and  God's  people  shall  suffer  tribulation  and 
martyrdom — an  event  connecting  at  once  with  the 
opening  of  the  fifth  Seal  (ver.  9).  "But  the  end  is 
not  yet ;"  "  these  are  the  beginning  of  sorrows." 

These  verses  of  the  Olivet  Prophecy  seem  to  be- 
long to  the  time  of  Jerusalem's  overthrow,  A.  D.  70, 
as  Luke  reporting  the  same  Discourse  of  the  Lord 
plainly  says,  Lu.  xxi:  8-20.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  had  in  mind  the  troublous  times 
that  preceded  and  accompanied  the  capture  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Romans  under  Titus,  the  horrible  suffer- 
ings then  endured  by  uncounted  multitudes  of  Jews, 
and  afflictions  and  slaughter  of  His  own  disciples,  as 
the  book  of  the  Acts,  and  the  later  Epistles  of  Paul, 
and  those  of  Peter,  and  Jude  abundantly  attest.  But 
do  those  events,  can  they  exhaust  His  predictions? 
Did  wars,  famines,  pestilences,  false  prophets  and 
false  Messiahs  end  with  the  destruction  of  the  holy 
city  of  Israel?  No  one  would  be  so  foolish  as  to 
assert  it.    The  like  things,  in  a  little  less  than  seventy 


^O  THE  REVELATION. 

years  after,  reappeared  in  the  rebellion  of  the  im- 
poster,  Bar-Cochba,  who,  with  his  following,  was 
overthrown  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  Jerusalem  was 
laid  in  heaps,  and  its  ruins  sown  with  salt.  In  almost 
every  century  since  the  like  commotions,  and  dis- 
turbances, and  bloodshed  have  been  repeated.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  two  prime  objects  were 
before  our  Lord's  mind  when  He  predicted  the  events 
of  Matt,  xxiv,  viz.:  Jerusalem's  ruin  and  His  Sec- 
ond Coming.  The  one  object  glides  into  the  other, 
both  events  have  some  things  which  precede  them  in 
common.  His  prophecy  is  a  double  one,  applying 
both  to  Jerusalem  and  His  Advent.  Accordingly,  we 
believe  that  before  He  comes  to  earth  again,  and, 
perhaps,  not  long  before,  the  like  things  that  presaged 
Jerusalem's  destruction  will  announce  in  the  most 
solemn  fashion  the  nearness  of  His  appearing.  His- 
tory repeates  itself.  Our  age,  the  Gospel  age,  began 
at  Jerusalem;  prophetic  Scripture  appears  to  testify 
that    it   will    terminate    there. 

If  the  right  interpretation  has  been  given  to  the 
Lamb's  taking  the  Book  from  the  hand  of  Him  who 
sat  on  the  throne  and  opening  its  Seals,  then  the 
action  of  the  four  riders  does  not  relate  to  Jerusalem's 
desolation,  nor  to  the  suffering  then  endured.  The 
action  of  the  horsemen  belongs  to  the  time  of  the 
End,  to  the  last  mighty  conflict  between  the  Son  of 
Man  and  the  hostile  powers  of  the  world.  When  these 
riders  start  forth  portentous  movements  are  afield; 
the  forces  are  marching  and  massing  for  the  final 
struggle.     We  think  they  go   forth  before  Daniel's 


OPENING  OF  THE  SEVEN  SEALS.     71' 

Seventieth  Week  begins  its  course.  They  clear  the 
way  for  the  monster  Beast  and  his  ten  confederate 
kings.  A  heavenly  mandate  seems  to  summon  them, 
and  providence  permits  them  to  work  their  will,  for 
restraints  will  then  be  withdrawn  and  the  forces  of  the 
End-time  will  do  as  they  list.  The  Living  Beings  that 
call  them  out  are  intimately  associated  with  the 
Throne  of  God  and  its  decrees,  Rom.  ix:  28. 

The  fifth  Seal  is  the  martyr  Seal,  vi:  9-1 1.  The 
Seer  saw  "  under  the  altar  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony 
which  they  held."  Their  blood  had  been  poured  out 
like  that  of  sacrificial  victims  at  the  altar's  bottom. 
They  were  slain  for  the  same  cause  that  banished 
John  to  the  desolate  Patmos,  i :  9 ;  "  for  the  word  of 
God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ."  They 
were  Christian  martyrs  no  less  than  was  John  a 
Christian  sufferer.  It  is  held  that  these  martyrs  do 
not  pertain  to  the  Church,  for  their  cry,  *'  How 
long,  O,  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge 
and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?" 
— indicates  they  are  on  other  ground  than  Christian. 
This  view  is  maintained  mainly  to  save  the  theory 
that  the  Rapture  of  the  Church  occurs  at  the  opening 
of  the  fourth  chapter  of  our  book,  and  as  this  scene 
is  subsequent  thereto,  these  martyrs  are  not  of  the 
Body.  But  almost  precisely  the  same  language  is 
employed  by  our  Lord  in  Luke  xviii:  7,  "And  shall 
not  God  avenge  his  own  elect  who  cry  day  and  night 
unto  him,  though  he  bear  long  with  them  ?  "  It  would 
be  presumptuous  to  deny  the  application  of  these  words 


*J2  THE  REVELATION.       - 

to  Christians.  The  context  settles  that  matter.  The 
method  of  interpretation  which  deftly  puts  an  incon- 
venient text  out  of  the  way  so  as  to  save  the  view 
is  perilously  close  to  that  of  the  rationalist  who  says 
of  Scripture  that  cuts  across  his  theory,  "  It  is  spuri- 
ous," "  an  interpolation,"  "  it  don't  apply."  Why  try 
to  rob  these  martyrs  of  their  heritage?  If  they  are 
not  members  of  the  Body,  neither  is  John,  for  he  and 
they  stand  precisely  on  the  same  ground,  suffer  for  the 
same  reason — "  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  Christ."  All  the  Seals  pertain  to  the  time 
just  before  Christ's  Advent. 

The  martyrdom  of  these  saints  post-dates  the  sum- 
mons to  the  four  horsemen.  For  aught  told  us  to  the 
contrary,  they  were  slain  by  the  order  of  these  riders. 
Persecution,  no  doubt,  deepens  and  intensifies  through 
the  sanguinary  and  cruel  action  of  the  horsemen. 
Hence,  other  martyrs  are  to  follow  them.  These  must 
wait  till  their  brethren  have  been  put  to  death  before 
God  will  execute  judgment  on  their  murderers.  This 
fact,  as  already  intimated,  obviously  links  these  suf- 
ferers with  all  who  succeed  them,  including  no  doubt 
those  of  the  Great  Tribulation  itself. 

These  and  all  other  martyrs  of  Christ  will  have  a 
triumphant  vindication  in  due  time,  cf.  xi:  i8.  They 
will  be  raised  up,  and  will  live  and  reign  with  Christ 
a  thousand  years,  xx :  4,  5.  **  This  is  the  first  resur- 
rection." So  the  Spirit  of  God  witnesses.  No  resur- 
rection of  saint  or  martyr  takes  place  before  this,  else 
it  could  not  by  any  possibility  be  called  "  the  first 
resurrection."    It  occurs  when  Christ  returns  to  eartK 


OPENING  OF  THE  SEVEN  SEALS. 


73 


in  visible  majesty  and  overwhelming  power  and  glory, 
as  chap,  xix:  11-21  so  graphically  reveals.  As  we 
read  it,  the  Apocalypse  has  no  other  resurrection, 
knows  no  other  resurrection  than  this  "  first." 

The  opening  of  the  sixth  Seal  is  succeeded  by 
extraordinary  convulsions  of  nature  and  universal  con- 
sternation of  men,  vi:  12-17.  These  are  the  "  signs" 
which  immediately  precede  the  Advent  of  Christ.  It 
is  "  the  Day  of  the  Lord,"  the  Day  of  most  appalling 
phenomena,  as  the  prophets  testify,  cf.  Isa.  xiii:  9,  10; 
Joel  ii;  30,  31;  iii:  14-16;  Zeph.  i:  14-18;  Zech.  xiv: 
6,  7,  etc.  The  signs  are  the  precursor  of  the  visible 
appearing  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  precede  the  actual 
Coming  by  the  briefest  space  of  time,  and  they  im- 
mediately follow  the  Great  Tribulation.  Our  Lord 
foretells  this  "  sign-time "  in  graphic  terms,  Matt, 
xxiv:  29;  Luke  xxi:  25-28.  Nothing  in  the  world's 
history  has  yet  happened  which  on  any  fair  principle 
of  interpretation  even  approaches  the  fulfilment  of  the 
contents  of  this  sixth  Seal.  The  conversion  of  Con- 
stantine,  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the  irruption 
of  the  Barbarians,  the  French  Revolution — not  one  of 
these  events,  nor  all  of  them  combined,  are  anywhere 
near  an  accomplishment  of  the  "  signs,"  else,  as  one 
tersely  puts  it,  "  the  majesty  of  the  prediction  is  lost 
in  the  poverty  of  its  fulfilment." 

The  opening  of  the  seventh  Seal  is  the  consum- 
mation, viii:  I,  5. 


74 


THE  REVELATION. 


The  Episode  of  the  Sealed  and  the  Saved,  chap.  vii. 

As  already  noted,  this  episode  is  introduced  be- 
tween the  sixth  and  the  seventh  Seals.  But  the  time 
covered  by  it  is  certainly  more  than  the  brief  space 
which  lies  between  the  "  sign-time  "  and  the  Advent. 
It  appears  to  us  that  it  stretches  over  the  period  be- 
tween the  first  and  the  last  of  the  Seals.  The  world 
movements  and  the  activities  of  the  great  adversary 
are  shown  us  in  the  first  five  Seals;  the  episode  dis- 
closes to  us  God's  activities  and  mercies  in  grace  in 
this  same  period.  First,  144,000  of  Israel's  tribes  are 
sealed  with  the  seal  of  God  (cf.  Ezek.  ix).  They  are 
Jews,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  for  they  stand  in  sharp 
contrast  with  the  saved  from  among  the  Gentiles, 
vs.  9-17.  Two  companies,  quite  distinct  from  one 
another,  are  here  brought  to  view,  viz. :  the  144,000 
(122  X  1,000)  sealed  out  of  Israel,  and  the  innumer- 
able hosts  gathered  from  among  the  nations,  v:  9. 
The  purpose  of  the  sealing  is  to  secure  these  chosen 
Hebrews  against  the  wrath  which  is  about  to  be 
poured  out  on  the  ungodly.  Hence,  the  four  angels 
standing  on  earth's  "  four  corners "  are  bidden  to 
hold  back  the  judgments  until  these  are  safe  under  the 
seal  of  God.  The  same  company  appears  under  the 
sounding  of  the  fifth  Trumpet,  and  they  are  preserved 
from  its  desolation  because  they  have  as  here  in  the 
episode  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads  (ix:  4). 
It  is  difficult  to  locate  the  time  of  the  sealing,  but  it 
seems  almost  certain  it  belongs  to  a  point  before  the 
Tribulation  begins,  for  these  believing  Jews  are  no 


OPENING  OF  THE  SEVEN  SEALS.  75 

doubt  the  fruit  of  the  testimony  of  the  Two  Wit- 
nesses (xi),  and  if  so,  their  sealing  belongs  to  the  time 
of  the  four  riders  (vi:i-8). 

Second,  an  innumerable  host  of  saved  Gentiles  are 
seen  in  glory,  before  the  throne  of  God,  clad  in  white 
raiment,  with  palm  branches  in  their  hands.  They 
have  come  to  their  place  of  bliss  through  the  "  great 
tribulation  "  (the  Greek  is  most  emphatic,  "  the  tribu- 
lation the  great  one").  It  is  one  of  unprecedented 
trouble,  of  unparalleled  suffering.  Daniel  speaks  of  it 
as  a  "time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  was  since  there 
was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time"  (Dan.  xii:  i). 
Jeremiah  also,  "Alas!  for  that  day  is  great,  so  that 
none  is  like  it;  it  is  even  the  time  of  Jacob's  trouble; 
but  he  shall  be  saved  out  of  it"  (Jer.  xxx:  7). 
Christ  likewise,  "  For  then  shall  be  great  tribulation, 
such  as  hath  not  been  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
until  now;  no,  nor  ever  shall  be"  (Matt,  xxiv:  21). 
Never  yet  has  this  tribulation,  so  unequalled  in  intensity 
and  aw  fulness  taken  place.  It  is  still  future,  but 
as  seen  in  this  vision  the  saved  have  passed  through  it, 
and  are  now  in  glory.  The  sealed  144,000  seem  to 
have  been  preserved  through  it,  sheltered  from  its 
dread  fulness  by  the  seal  of  God. 

It  is  the  judgment  of  trustworthy  interpreters  of 
prophecy  that  the  last  or  Seventieth  Week  of  Daniel's 
mystic  Seventy  has  never  yet  run  its  course  in  human 
history,  Dan.  ix :  24-27.  It  still  belongs  to  the  future. 
The  Week  consists  of  seven  years  of  literal  time.  The 
prophets  divide  it  into  two  equal  parts  of  three  and 
one-half  years  each,  Dan.  vii:  25;  xii:  7;  Rev.  xii:  14. 


^6  THE  REVELATION. 

Each  half  of  the  Week  is  also  spoken  of  as  forty-two 
months,  Rev.  xi:  2;  xiii:  5,  and  as  1,260  days,  Rev. 
xi :  3 ;  xii :  6.  The  following  diagram  may  serve  to 
illustrate   the   divided   Week: 

Daniel's  Seventieth  Week — Seven  Years. 


3^/^  years  years,  Dan.  xii:  7. 
42  months.  Rev.  xi:  2. 
1,260  days,  Rev.  xi:  3. 


3^/^  years.  Rev.  xii:  14. 
42  months.  Rev.  xiii :  5. 
1,260  days.  Rev.  xii:  6. 


The  numbers  of  each  half  of  the  Week,  though 
expressed  in  years,  months,  and  days,  designate  the 
same  period — three  and  a  half  years  twice  over,  seven 
years  in  all.    We  believe  this  to  be  literal  time. 

The  world's  crisis,  the  culmination  of  evil,  the 
tremendous  judgments  of  God,  the  First  Resurrection 
and  the  inauguration  of  the  Millennium  are  all  nar- 
rowed into  the  compass  of  these  seven  years  of  time. 
Israel's  age-long  exile  and  suffering  will  then  termi- 
nate in  their  restoration  to  God,  and  their  reinstate- 
ment in  the  divine  favor,  nevermore  to  be  rejected 
and  cast  off.  But  these  seven  years  will  mark  mo- 
mentous events,  unexampled  suffering,  colossal  wick- 
edness, and  the  wrath  of  God  poured  out  to  the 
uttermost. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  accurately  to  say 
just  what  events  will  take  place  in  each  part  of  this 
divided  Week,  these  seven  years.  It  must  be  kept  in 
mind  that  the  outburst  of  godlessness,  which  will  then 
reach  its  climax,  has  had  a  gradual  development,  has 


OPENING  OF  THE  SEVEN  SEALS. 


77. 


long  been  gathering  force  and  ripening.  As  an 
ancient  writer  expresses  it,  "  The  road  is  long  in  pre- 
paring, but  the  end  of  it  is  sudden  and  swift."  It  is 
quite  possible  that  the  first  four  Seals  lie  before  the 
Seven  Years  begin  their  course.  The  fifth  Seal  be- 
longs in  part  to  each  half,  for  there  will  no  doubt  be 
martyrs,  both  in  the  one  and  in  the  other.  There  is 
little  doubt  but  that  the  Two  Witnesses  (Rev.  xi) 
testify  during  the  first  half  of  the  Week,  and  die 
before  the  events  of  the  second  half  begin  their  course. 
The  Tribulation  is  certainly  in  the  second  half.  The 
Beast  appears  in  the  first  half  when  he  slays  the  Wit- 
nesses; he  comes  to  the  summit  of  his  bad  pre-emi- 
nence in  the  second.  Israel  is  in  both  halves,  as  also  are 
Gentile  believers.  There  will  be  a  martyred  rem- 
nant of  Israel,  and  also  a  spared  remnant.  It  is  the 
spared  remnant  that  is  sealed  and  kept  during  the 
time  of  trouble.  The  unnumbered  throng  of  Gentile 
martyrs  are  in  this  episode  seen  in  glory:  resurrection 
accordingly  for  them  is  here  prospectively  accom- 
plished. There  will  also  be  a  sheltered  remnant  of 
Gentile  saints,  Rev.  iii:  lo. 


CHAPTER   IX. 
The  Seven  Trumpets,  vlii :  6 — xi :  i8. 

Like  the  Vials,  the  Trumpets  are  judicial;  they  in- 
flict judgment  on  the  wicked  and  the  ungodly  of  the 
time  of  the  end.  The  first  four  smite,  not  guilty  man 
directly,  but  certain  objects  of  nature  which  are 
essential  to  man's  well-being.  The  first  strikes  vege- 
tation; the  second  the  sea;  the  third  the  rivers  and 
fountains  of  waters;  the  fourth  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars.  These  beneficent  powers  of  nature,  on  which 
man  is  so  dependent  for  his  well-being,  are  stripped  of 
one-third  of  their  energy  under  the  judgments  of 
God.  Through  nature  God  chastises  the  ungodly.  If 
they  should  bow  to  His  rod  and  repent,  no  doubt  the 
judgments  would  be  removed.  But  the  two  Woe 
Trumpets  which  deal  directly  with  men,  and  inflict 
on  them  the  heaviest  punishments,  prove  they  do  not 
repent,  they  grew  worse  and  worse  (ix:  20,  21).  The 
Trumpets  do  not  begin  to  sound  at  the  same 
point  where  the  Seals  begin.  The  first  Trumpet  ap- 
parently starts  where  the  third  Seal  ends  and  the 
fourth  begins.  They  all,  however,  terminate  at  the 
same  point — the  consummation. 

The  fifth  Trumpet  (ix:  i-ii;  ist  Woe)  brings  a 
fearful  scourge  upon  the  earth.  It  seems  to  involve 
all  men  and  nature  in  its  sweep.  There  are  two  ex- 
emptions, however,  the  "locusts"  from  the  jrnoke  of 

;^8 


THE  SEVEN  TRUMPETS.  79 

the  pit  must  not  hurt  vegetation,  nor  touch  the  men 
who  had  the  seal  of  God  in  their  forehead,  ver.  4. 
On  the  others  the  blow  falls  with  utmost  violence,  and 
with  crushing  effect,  so  that  the  guilty  sufferers  seek 
death  and  do  not  find  it,  death  flies  from  them.  The 
torture  lasts  for  five  months. 

The  historical  interpreters  find  the  fulfilment  of 
this  vision  of  the  scorpion-like  locusts  in  the  Saracen 
armies,  the  Fallen  Star  being  their  prophet,  Mo- 
hammed. Others  regard  these  scourges  as  the  armies 
of  heretics  and  infidels;  others  still,  as  swarms  of 
demons  let  loose  on  the  guilty  world,  their  king  and 
leader  being  no  other  than  the  devil  himself.  Not  one 
of  these  interpretations  is  satisfactory.  That  of  the 
historical  school  has  historical  ground  for  it.  There 
is  a  remarkable  parallelism  between  the  prediction 
here  and  the  rise  and  progress  of  Islam.  Even  Wil- 
liam Kelly,  a  staunch  futurist,  does  not  shrink  from 
saying,  "  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  common  application 
of  the  locusts  to  the  Saracens,  and  of  the  Euphratean 
horsemen  to  the  Turks  is  well  founded."  The  dif- 
ficulty lies  in  this,  the  Woe  Trumpets  sound  at  the  time 
of  the  end,  in  Daniel's  Seventieth  Week,  and  hence 
events  which  occurred  a  thousand  years  ago  cannot 
possibly  exhaust  this  mighty  prophecy.  They 
adumbrate  it,  but  are  not  its  complete  fulfilment. 

The  following  explanation  of  this  vision  is  def- 
ferentially  submitted.  The  key  to  its  meaning  is 
found  in  the  phrase  of  ver.  4,  "  men  who  have  not 
the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads."  Those  who  have 
that  seal  are  exempt  from  the  judgment  which  now 


8o  THE  REVELATION. 

falls.  The  reference  must  be  to  the  144,000  sealed  of 
vii:  1-8.  They  are  Hebrews,  and  the  seal  shields 
them  from  the  "  torment  "of  the  invading  army  here 
foretold.  At  the  time  of  the  vision  Israel  in  large 
numbers  is  back  in  the  Land ;  most  of  them  are  un- 
believing, some  of  them  have  become  the  true  people 
of  God.  These  are  protected,  those  are  exposed  to 
the  fury  of  the  invading  host.  That  host,  it  is  be- 
lieved, is  identical  with  Ezekiel's  Gog,  prince  of  Rosh, 
Meshech,  and  Tubal,  Ezek.  xxxviii:  Ixxxix;  Joel  ii. 
Ezekiel's  prophecy  locates  the  time  "  in  that  day," 
xxxviii :  10,  14,  "  when  my  people  Israel  dwelleth 
securely."  In  Joel  it  is  the  Day  of  the  Lord,  ii:  i.  In 
Joel  the  army  resembles  locusts  in  the  suddenness  of 
their  appearance,  their  countless  numbers,  their  irre- 
sistible progress,  and  their  insatiable  rapacity.  But 
they  do  not  prey  on  the  sealed  of  God,  they  do  not 
touch  earth's  vegetation,  they  smite  the  unbelieving 
among  men.  It  is  quite  possible  Russia  will  have  the 
chief  part  in  this  invasion,  but  she  will  not  be  alone 
in  it.  Swarms  of  other  peoples  will  also  engage  in  it, 
as  Ezekiel  clearly  announces.  All  these  invaders, 
this  huge  host  of  Gog,  will  be  animated  by  a  satanic 
spirit,  and  will  be  filled  with  the  fury  of  demons. 
They  bring  with  them  the  smoke  of  the  Pit.  The 
plague  is  of  but  short  duration,  it  lasts  but  five 
months,  ix:  5. 

The  sixth  Trumpet,  vision  of  the  Euphratean  Horse- 
men, ix:  13-21.  This  is  the  second  of  the  Woe 
Trumpets,  and,  like  the  first,  it  must  be  one  of  calamity. 
Such  it  assuredly  is.    By  this  countless  army  of  200,- 


THE  SEVEN  TRUMPETS.  8l 

000,000,  ver.  16,  the  third  part  of  men  are  killed.  No 
exemption  of  the  sealed  of  God  is  made,  nor  of 
earth's  productions,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  Woe; 
the  terrific  judgment  here  falls  with  merciless  force. 
The  language  of  course  is  symbolical.  The  four 
angels,  *'  bound  "  perhaps,  mean  the  providential  re- 
straints of  armed  forces  from  the  East.  The  Eu- 
phrates connects  the  thought  with  Babylon,  and 
Babylon  is  directly  associated  with  the  Beast,  chap, 
xvii.  It  may,  therefore,  be  that  it  is  the  imperial  army 
of  the  Antichrist,  provoked  by  the  coming  into  Pales- 
time  of  the  king  of  the  North  with  his  hordes,  as  the 
prophets  reveal  (Ezek.  xxxviii:  6,  15;  Dan.  xi:  40; 
Joel  ii:  20).  Daniel,  in  chap,  xi:  40-45,  predicts  the 
invasion  of  Palestine  by  the  wilful  king  (the  Beast 
or  Antichrist),  and  the  attack  on  him  by  the  kings  of 
the  north  and  the  south,  and  apparently  the  king's 
victory  over  those  combined  forces.  Or  it  may  be  that 
this  vast  army  (we  think  the  number  200,000,000  is 
ideal,  not  literal,  denoiing  an  extraordinary  large 
army)  will  consist  mainly  of  Mohammedans,  who  in 
that  day  will  combine  against  the  Wilful  King,  who 
will  then  be  seeking  the  subjugation  of  the  whole 
earth.  Surely  that  dreadful  scourge  of  the  ages, 
Mohammedanism,  will  hold  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  scenes  of  the  last  days.  Its  dark  record  of 
despotism,  desolation,  ravage  and  slaughter,  will,  pos- 
sibly, end  with  one  supreme  effort  to  regain  its  vanish- 
ing power  and  its  lost  territories.  But  certainty  as 
to  the  full  significance  of  this  vision  of  the  Euphratean 
^my  is  at  present  unattainable.     The  historical  in- 


82  THE  REVELATION. 

terpreters  find  its  fulfilment  in  the  invasion  of  west- 
ern Asia  by  the  Turks,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of 
Constantinople  (A.  D.  1453).  There  is  a  remarkable 
parallelism  between  the  prediction  as  thus  viewed  and 
the  historical  facts.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  but  that 
it  then  received  a  partial  and  anticipatory  accomplish- 
ment. But  the  vision  belongs  specifically  to  the  time 
of  the  end.  It  may  be  that  then  Islam  will  put  forth 
its  last  and  most  vigorous  exertion  to  preserve  its 
existence,  and  thus  fulfil  this  vision. 

The  locust-like  army  of  the  fifth  Trumpet  torment 
men  with  their  sting.  The  Euphratean  horsemen 
kill  the  third  part  of  men.  The  scourge  lasts  for  a 
definite  period ;  namely,  "  the  hour,  and  day,  and 
month,  and  year."  Its  beginning,  duration,  and  end 
are  fixed  by  divine  decree.  That  this  great  army  is 
human,  and  not  a  countless  multitude  of  evil  spirits 
as  some  think,  seems  to  us  certain.  It  must  be  con- 
stantly borne  in  mind  that  the  movements  of  nations 
and  of  men  in  the  last  times  will  be  on  a  scale  of  vast- 
ness  almost  beyond  what  we  can  now  conceive.  Pro- 
phecy appears  to  involve  the  whole  world  in  the 
revolutions   and   convulsions   of   those   days. 

The  third  Woe  Trumpet,  xi:  15-19 — the  seventh  and 
last.  Heavenly  voices  announce,  "  The  kingdom  of 
the  world  has  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and 
of  His  Christ ;  and  He  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever,** 
xi:  15,  R.  V.  The  world-kingdom  has  now  become 
the  Lord's,  so  the  words  signify.  Obviously,  this 
is  the  final  consummation,  the  End.  Accordingly, 
the  twenty- four   Elders  say,  "  Thou  hast  taken  thy 


THE  SEVEN  TRUMPETS.  83 

great  power  and  didst  reign.  And  the  nations  were 
wroth,  and  thy  wrath  came,  and  the  time  of  the  dead 
to  be  judged,  and  the  time  to  give  their  reward  to 
thy  servants  the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints,  and  to 
them  that  fear  thy  name,  the  small  and  the  great ;  and 
to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth,"  vers.  16-18. 
This  language  unmistakably  denotes  the  time  of  the 
End.  It  is  very  notable,  (i)  The  rage  of  the  nations, 
(2)  God's  wrath  visited  upon  them,  (3)  resurrection 
and  vindication  of  the  saints,  (4)  distribution  of  re- 
wards among  God's  people,  (5)  overthrow  of  earth's 
destroyers.  We  do  not  think  that  the  wicked  share 
in  this  resurrection.  The  term  "  Judged  "  means  to 
judge  with  the  purpose  of  vindication,  and  the  dead 
thus  judged  are  described  as  exclusively  belonging 
to  God.  There  is  no  hint  here  of  the  presence  of  the 
wicked  dead.  The  righteous  alone  are  here,  to  whom 
the  blessed  Judge  gives  His  gracious  rewards.  The 
seventh  Trumpet  is  the  last  and  the  resurrection 
trumpet,  i  Cor.  xv:  52. 

The  words  of  the  Elders  are  noteworthy,  "  We 
give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God,  the  Almighty,  who 
art  and  who  wast,"  xi:  17.  The  clause  "and  art  to 
come  "  is  omitted  in  the  Revisions,  and  in  all  the  late 
critical  Greek  texts  (Alford,  Wescott  &  Hort,  Wey- 
mouth, and  Nestle).  In  i:  4,  8,  ;  iv:  8,  the  ascription 
is,  "  Who  was,  and  who  is,  and  who  is  to  come,"  or 
"who  cometh."  But  here  in  xi:  17  the  final  clause 
is  omitted,  "who  cometh."  Why?  Manifestly  be- 
cause  the    Lord    actually    comes   when    the    seventh 


84  THE  REVELATION. 

Trumpet  sounds.     In  iv:  8  He  has  not  come,  He  is 
still  the  coming  One. 

The  Episode,  chaps,  x-xi:  14. 

This  episode,  like  that  of  the  Seals,  is  interposed 
between  the  sixth  and  the  seventh  Trumpet.  Space 
will  allow  but  brief  remarks  on  three  subjects  in  these 
chapters,  (i.)  The  Oath  of  the  Angel  and  his  solemn 
proclamation,  x:  5-7.  His  imposing  attitude,  his  up- 
lifted right  hand,  and  his  appeal  to  Him  who  is  the 
Living  One,  attest  the  momentousness  and  truth  of 
his  announcement,  "  There  shall  be  no  longer  delay." 
Not  that  time  is  then  to  end  and  eternity  begin,  but 
that  God  will  now  at  length  interpose  and  put  an  end 
to  the  lawlessness  and  the  crimes  of  the  world.  The 
angel  asserts  that  this  interposition  will  take  place  at 
the  sounding  of  the  seventh  Trumpet;  then  the  mys- 
tery of  God  will  be  finished — the  secret  of  His  let- 
ting His  foes  have  their  own  way  and  of  letting  the 
bad  triumph  and  the  good  be  trodden  underfoot. 
All  this  will  terminate  with  the  7th  Trumpet,  xi:  1-18. 

(2.)  The  temple  and  the  holy  city,  xi:  i,  2.  These 
certainly  cannot  be  the  heavenly  temple  and  city,  nor 
the  Christian  church.  For  "  the  court "  is  cast  out 
as  unholy  and  polluted.  No  chronological  scheme  can 
be  devised  for  the  past  or  the  present  that  will  give 
42  months  of  desolation  either  for  the  church  or  the 
earthly  Jerusalem.  The  two  Witnesses  have  never 
yet  appeared  in  connection  with  Jerusalem  and  the 
Jews;  but  the  temple,  the  city  and  the  testimony  of 


THE  SEVEN  TRUMPETS.  85 

the  witnesses  are  certainly  connected  with  the  land 
of  Palestine,  and  particularly  with  Jerusalem.  Nor 
has  the  Beast  appeared,  nor  have  the  witnesses  been 
slain  by  him.  Accordingly,  it  seems  to  us  that  be- 
yond peradventure  what  is  foretold  in  this  episode 
belongs  to  the  future,  and  the  scenes  and  events  an- 
nounced in  it  will  take  place  in  the  days  of  the  Seals, 
the  Trumpets  and  Vials,  i.  c,  at  the  End. 

(3.)  The  Two  Witnesses,  xi:  3-13.  God  will  never 
leave  Himself  without  a  witness  even  in  the  dreadful 
times  of  the  End.  Before  the  final  deliverance  ar- 
rives for  Israel  two  Witnesses  will  testify  for  God  in 
the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  miraculous  powers  will 
once  more  be  exhibited  among  the  chosen  people. 
We  are  not  told  who  these  Witnesses  are  nor  whence. 
The  account  given  of  them  is  brief  but  rich  in  sug- 
gestion. They  are  clothed  in  sackcloth,  emblem  of 
humiliation  and  of  affliction ;  their  ministry  is  one 
of  appeal  and  denunciation,  hence  calculated  to  arouse 
antagonism.  "  These  are  the  two  olive  trees  and 
the  two  candlesticks,  standing  before  the  Lord  of  the 
earth"  (cf.  Zech.  iv:  3,  11,  14).  They  are  anointed 
for  an  extraordinary  work,  and  they  are  endued  with 
supernatural  power  to  execute  it.  They  can  shut  hea- 
ven, and  they  can  smite  men.  Their  ministry  lasts 
for  1260  days,  i.  e.,  three  and  a  half  years,  when  they 
are  slain  by  the  Beast,  and  their  bodies  are  refused 
burial.  How  bitter  must  be  the  hostility  against 
them!  After  three  and  a  half  days  they  are  raised 
up,  and  summoned  to  heaven  by  a  "  great  voice," 
"  Come  up  hither  1" 


86  THE  REVELATION. 

Are  these  witnesses  two  individual  men?  So  the 
passage  appears  to  teach.  Many,  however,  think  they 
represent  two  companies  of  witnesses,  at  the  head 
of  which  two  men  stand  as  chief.  Even  some 
staunch  futurists,  as  James  Smith  and  WilHam  Kelly, 
incline  to  this  view.  The  majority  believe  that  they 
are  in  reality  but  two  individual  men.  Some  sup- 
pose they  are  Enoch  and  Elijah;  others,  Moses  and 
Elijah.  The  only  evidence  in  support  of  the  opinion 
is  the  miracles  wrought  by  them  are  closely  akin  to 
those  of  Moses  and  Elijah.  Beyond  this  there  is  not 
a  hint  that  they  are  sent  to  earth  from  the  unseen 
world.  It  is  extremely  improbable  that  these  saints, 
after  centuries  of  bliss  in  heaven,  should  be  dispatched 
to  earth  to  bear  witness  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  The 
passage  does  not  require  such  an  interpretation.  All 
it  demands  is,  that  the  witnesses  be  invested  with 
supernatural  authority  and  with  miraculous  power. 
John  the  Baptist  is  an  analogous  instance  of  such 
witness-bearing.  He  came  in  the  "  spirit  and  power 
of  Elijah"  (Lu.  i:  17).  Jesus  said  of  him — "That 
Elijah  is  indeed  come,  and  they  have  done  unto  him 
whatsoever  they  listed"  (Matt,  xvii:  12).  But  John 
was  not  Elijah.  He  might  have  done  all  predicted 
of  Elijah  had  the  Jews  received  him  and  his  testimony 
(Matt,  xi :  14).  H  two  men  shall  appear  in  the  last 
days,  as  these  two  assuredly  will,  and  bear  the  wit- 
ness of  God  to  rebellious  men  in  the  spirit  and  power 
of  Moses  and  Elijah,  the  terms  of  this  prophecy  will 
be  met. 

The  historical  interpretators  cite  a  striking  instance 


THE  SEVEN  TRUMPETS.  87 

of  the  accomplishment  of  xi:  3-13,  according  to  their 
method  of  exposition.  In  A.  D.  1512-17  the  Fifth 
Lateran  Council  was  held  in  Rome.  A  papal  bull  was 
issued  in  December,  151 3,  which  commanded  all  dis- 
sidents from  papal  authority  to  appear  in  due  time  be- 
fore the  Council,  and  show  cause  for  their  refusal  to 
acknowledge  the  pope's  supremacy.  When  the  time 
appointed  arrived  to  hear  such  cause,  no  answer  to 
Leo's  summons  appeared.  The  orator  of  that  session 
(May,  1 5 14)  uttered,  amidst  the  applause  of  the 
Council,  the  memorable  exclamation,  "  There  is  an  end 
of  resistance  to  the  papal  rule  and  religion;  opposers 
exist  no  more!"  Evangelical  testimony  was  hushed! 
Three  years  and  a  half  later,  almost  to  a  day  (Octo- 
ber, 1 5 17)  Luther  nailed  his  theses  to  the  Wittenberg 
church-door !  It  looks  much  as  if  the  witnesses  were 
indeed  slain,  but  they  gloriously  revive  in  the  power 
of  the  great  Reformation.  We  have  no  good  reason  to 
reject  this  application  of  the  prophecy  as  a  partial 
and  proleptic  fulfilment.  But  it  does  not  meet  all  the 
facts.  The  witnesses  beyond  question  prosecute  their 
ministry  in  Jerusalem,  and  there  they  are  slain,  xi:  8. 
Besides,  the  Beast,  it  seems  to  us,  cannot  be  merely 
a  corrupt  and  apostate  ecclesiastical  system  like  Po- 
pery ;  he  comes  from  the  **  abyss ;"  he  is,  or  seems  to 
be,  a  man,  not  only  an  organization  such  as  Roman- 
ism is.  Furthermore,  the  witnesses  appear  just  before 
the  seventh  Trumpet  sounds  when  the  consummation 
is  reached  and  the  Son  of  Man,  Jesus  Christ,  comes 
and  establishes  His  Kingdom  over  the  world. 

Apparently  the  ministry  of  the  two  witnesses  ends 


8S  THE  REVELATION. 

in  total  failure.  But  the  failure  is  only  apparent. 
The  most  blessed  results  follow  the  testimony  which 
brought  them  to  martyrdom.  We  have  no  doubt 
that  the  conversion  of  Israel's  remnant  of  sealed  ones 
(vii:  1-8)  is  the  glorious  issue  of  their  work  as  the 
following  chapters  appear  to  indicate. 


CHAPTER   X. 
The  Intercalated  Visions,  chaps,  xii,  xiii,  xiv. 

With  this  great  section  the  student  is  confronted 
by  some  of  the  most  intricate  and  perplexing  problems 
of  the  Apocalypse.  Help  from  books  of  a  substan- 
tial sort  is  painfully  meagre.  The  more  one  reads 
the  less  certainty  he  has  as  to  its  meaning.  Happy 
he  who  catches  glimpses  of  the  massive  truth  hidden 
behind  the  stupendous  imagery  of  this  section  of 
Revelation!  Let  it  be  ours  to  cautiously  thread  our 
way  through  the  intricacies  of  these  chapters,  seek- 
ing to  grasp  only  the  prominent  things  signified  in 
them  and  passing  by  details  of  exposition. 

Chap,  xii  has  two  "  signs  " — a  sun-clothed  Woman 
and  a  great,  red  dragon.  Our  first  inquiry  relates 
to  this  "  sign  "  of  the  Woman.  Who  is  she  ?  What 
does  she  represent?  The  conjectures  of  writers  are 
multitudinous  and  generally  contradictory.  We 
need  not  burden  the  page  with  enumerating  them. 
We  assume  that  she  is  not  the  Virgin  Mary,  for  the 
history  of  our  Saviour's  mother  does  not  correspond 
with  what  is  told  us  of  this  sun-clothed  woman.  She 
is  not  the  Christian  Church,  for  in  no  proper  or  ade- 
quate sense  can  we  affirm  that  she  gives  birth  to  the 
Man-Child  who  was  to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod  of 
iron,  and  who  was  caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God. 
It  is  by  Messiah  the  Church  is  born,  certainly  not  by 

89 


90  THE  REVELATION. 

the  Church  Messiah  becomes  incarnate.  The  Church 
in  all  ages  and  generations  is  composed  of  members 
who  are  brought  into  it  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  one 
by  one,  individually.  The  Woman  here  gives  birth 
to  one  majestic  and  glorious  Son ;  the  event  is  consum- 
mated at  once,  not  prolonged  through  ages,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  Christian  Church,  and  even  with  the 
Jewish  Church. 

We  believe  that  the  key  to  the  significance  of  this 
great  "  sign  "  is  found  in  the  19th  verse  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter.  After  the  seventh  Trumpet  has 
sounded  and  the  consummation  is  at  length  come,  the 
Seer  goes  back  and  starts  once  more  with  a  fresh  vis- 
ion, which  leads  him  into  the  marvellous  revelations 
contained  in  these  chapters.  In  xi :  19  we  read :  "And 
the  temple  (sanctuary)  of  God  was  opened  in  heaven, 
and  there  was  seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant." This  is  strictly  Jewish  ground;  the  temple, 
the  ark,  the  covenant  belong  to  Israel,  represent  He- 
brew relations  with  God  and  Hebrew  privileges.  The 
Spirit  now  takes  up  Jewish  things,  Jewish  standing, 
covenant,  hopes,  dangers,  tribulations  and  triumph. 
The  verse  connects  with  what  follows,  is  introductory 
to  it — is  explanatory  also.  The  Man-Child  Is  cer- 
tainly the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  woman  is  not  a 
literal  female;  she  Is  the  symbol  of  the  Messianic  na- 
tion, the  Daughter  of  Zion;  for  through  her,  Israel, 
Christ  was  given  to  the  world  (Rom.  ix:  5).  But 
the  prophet  is  not  here  tracing  Israel's  history,  nor  that 
of  Israel's  Messiah;  this  is  not  his  theme.  In  a  mag- 
nificent picture  he  sets  forth  Israel's  connection  with 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS.  91 

Messiah,  first,  in  His  incarnation,  and  second,  the 
conversion  of  the  first  instalment,  the  firstfruits  of  the 
chosen  people  to  God,  vii:  1-8;  xiv:  1-5.  The  chap- 
ter touches  the  first  Advent,  then  sketches  the  events 
that  pertain  to  the  time  of  the  second  Advent. 

The  Dragon  is  the  old  Serpent^  the  Devil  and  Satan, 
xii:  9.  Full  of  hatred  against  the  Woman,  Israel, 
whom  he  has  never  ceased  to  persecute,  whose  Son  he 
sought  to  slay  at  Bethlehem,  he  now  appears  in  his 
last  disguise.  He  is  seen  as  a  huge  Dragon,  half  ser- 
pent and  half  wild  beast,  with  seven  crowned  heads 
and  ten  horns.  His  outward  form  links  him  at  once 
with  the  revived  World  Empire,  as  chap,  xiii  unmis- 
takably proves.  Neither  Rome  pagan  or  papal  ever 
had  such  disguise;  never  yet  has  appeared  a  power 
with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  or  with  what  this 
symbol  portrays.  Beyond  question  the  apparition  of 
this  monster,  energized  as  he  will  be  by  the  Devil,  be- 
longs to  the  future.  An  event  of  worldwide  import 
precedes  or  accompanies  the  appearing  of  the  seven- 
headed  monster  on  earth.  "And  there  was  war  in 
heaven:  Michael  and  his  angels  fought  against  the 
dragon;  and  the  dragon  fought,  and  his  angels,  and 
prevailed  not;  neither  was  their  place  found  any  more 
in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,"  xii: 
7-9,  Cf.  Dan.  xii:  i,  2.  Immediately  upon  the  dejec- 
tion of  the  great  adversary  from  "  heaven  "  to  earth 
a  shout  of  gladness  rings  through  heaven,  "  Now  is 
come  salvation,  and  strength,  and  the  kingdom  of  our 
God,  and  the  power  of  his  Christ:  for  the  accuser  of 
our  brethren  is  cast  down,  which  accuseth  them  be- 


92  THE  REVELATION. 

fore  our  God  day  and  night,"  ver.  lo.  The  ground  of 
Satan's  accusation  is  human  unfaithfulness,  unbehef; 
in  Israel's  case,  apostasy.  So  long  as  the  Jews  re- 
main obdurate  and  apostate  from  God  and  from  His 
Messiah,  so  long  the  enemy  holds  his  vantage  ground. 
But  what  is  it  which  brings  about  his  dejection?  In 
Dan.  xii :  i  it  is  Michael  who  "  stands  up,  the  great 
prince  which  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people  " 
(Daniel's  people).  In  Rev.  xii:  7,  8  it  is  likewise 
Michael  fighting  against  the  dragon  and  overcoming 
him.  But  more  is  told  us:  "And  they  overcame  him 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their 
testimony;  and  they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the 
death."  These  are  saints  on  earth  who  have  come  to 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  who  receive  Him  as  Saviour, 
and  who  bear  faithful  witness  to  Him  in  the  midst  of 
trial  and  affliction.  They  are  Jewish  believers,  and 
their  conversion  seems  to  synchronize  with  the  "  war 
in  heaven." 

The  words  of  other  prophets  confirm  and  explain 
these  symbolic  pictures.  Micah  predicts  the  first  ad- 
vent of  the  Redeemer,  then  foretells  Israel's  rejection 
and  restoration:  "Therefore  will  he  give  them  up, 
until  the  time  that  she  which  travaileth  hath  brought 
forth:  then  the  residue  of  his  brethren  shall  return 
unto  the  children  of  Israel "  (v:  2,  3).  Isaiah  speaks 
of  the  same  event:  "  Before  she  travailed  she  brought 
forth;  before  her  pain  came  she  was  delivered  of  a 
man-child.  Shall  a  nation  be  born  in  one  day?  For 
as  soon  as  Zion  travailed  she  brought  forth  her  chil- 
dren "   (Ixvi:  7,  8).     Israel's  conversion,  even  as  to 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS. 


93 


the  "  firstfruits,"  the  144,000  of  sealed  ones,  as  we 
think  is  here  specially  meant,  precipitates  the  crisis. 
Satan,  cast  down  from  his  high  place  of  accusation, 
rages  on  earth,  persecutes  the  Woman  and  goes  to 
make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her  seed,  who  keep  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  hold  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  xii:  17. 

According  to  Daniel,  when  Michael  "  stands  up " 
for  Israel,  the  time  of  unprecedented  trouble  begins 
(xii:  I,  2).  According  to  John,  when  saints  over- 
come the  Dragon  because  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
and  of  the  word  of  their  testimony,  the  seven-headed 
and  ten-horned  Foe  furiously  assails  the  Woman  and 
the  remnant  of  her  seed  who  believe.  It  is  the  open- 
ing of  the  Great  Tribulation,  the  time  of  Jacob's 
"  trouble."  But  if  the  Dragon  is  busy  God  is  even 
busier.  If  the  one  determines  the  annihilation  of  the 
Woman,  the  Other  determines  to  save  her.  And  so 
she  is  given  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle  whereby  she 
flies  into  the  wilderness,  where  God  has  provided  for 
her  a  place  of  safety  and  of  nourishment  during  the 
whole  period  of  the  Tribulation,  three  and  a  half 
years.  The  flight  is  from  Jerusalem  and  Judea;  it 
is  also  from  the  deadly  wrath  of  the  Beast,  the  Anti- 
christ, Satan's  agent  and  tool.  It  is,  we  do  not  doubt, 
the  sealed  company  of  believing  Israelites,  the  144,- 
000  of  chap,  vii  and  chap,  xiv,  who  flee  for  safety. 
God  provides  for  their  safety. 

John  IS  not  alone  in  this  prediction.  Other  proph- 
ets refer  to  the  same  event.  Thus  Zechariah  an- 
nounces that  the  nations  shall  be  gathered  together 


94  THE  REVELATION. 

against  Jerusalem,  that  the  city  shall  be  taken  and 
plundered,  that  half  its  population  shall  go  into  cap- 
tivity, but  ''  the  residue  of  the  people  shall  not  be  cut 
off  from  the  city."  God  in  a  most  marvellous  manner 
will  interpose  in  behalf  of  His  suffering  remnant,  and 
will  cleave  out  of  the  mountain  of  Olives  a  valley  of 
escape;  and  the  prophet  adds:  "And  ye  shall  flee  by 
the  valley  of  my  mountains;  for  the  valley  of  the 
mountains  shall  reach  unto  Azel :  yea,  ye  shall  flee, 
like  as  ye  fled  from  before  the  earthquake  in  the  days 
of  Uzziah  king  of  Judah;  and  Jehovah  my  God  shall 
come,  and  all  the  holy  ones  with  thee,"  Zech.  xiv:  1-5. 
Daniel  (xi:  41)  declares  that  "the  King,"  the  Anti- 
christ, will  be  prevented  from  taking  Edom,  Moab, 
and  Ammon.  All  other  lands  will  fall  under  his  vic- 
torious arms.  These  shall  escape.  May  it  be  that 
it  is  to  this  rocky,  almost  inaccessible  territory  the 
saved  remnant  will  flee?     Cf.  Psa.  Ix:  9-1 1. 

Foiled  in  the  effort  to  destroy  the  Woman,  the  furi- 
ous Dragon  turns  his  rage  against  the  rest  of  her  seed 
who  "keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  hold  the 
testimony  of  Jesus,"  xii:  17.  These  are  believing 
Jews,  and  seem  to  constitute  the  martyred  remnant 
of  the  Tribulation.  Believing  Gentiles  will  also  suf- 
fer ;  perhaps  the  countless  throng  of  vii :  9-14. 

The  sum  of  the  teaching  of  this  profound  and  diffi- 
cult vision  we  conceive  to  be  the  following: 

1.  The  Sun-clothed  Woman  is  Israel,  the  Daughter 
of  Zion,  seen  mainly  in  the  time  of  the  End.  She  is 
the  Messianic  Mother. 

2.  The  Dragon  is  the  Devil,  disguised  in  his  last. 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS. 


95 


his  most  effective,  and  yet  most  hideous  mask  he  has 
ever  worn. 

3.  "  War  in  heaven "  describes  Satan's  expulsion 
from  his  place  of  eminence  and  power,  and  the  crisis 
of  the  world  immediately  ensues. 

4.  Security  of  the  mystic  Woman,  Israel's  sealed 
company. 

5.  War  against  the  Woman's  seed,  Israel's  mar- 
tyred remnant. 

6.  Martyrdom  of  the  countless  throng  of  Gentile 
believers,  vii:  9-14. 

The  conversion  of  Israel's  "  firstfruits,"  the  sealed 
company  of  144,000,  and  the  dejection  of  the  old  Ser- 
pent from  heaven  synchronize.  It  is  this  conversion 
of  Israel's  sealed  and  martyred  remnants  which  de- 
stroys the  devil's  ground  of  accusation  against  the 
saints,  and  forshortens  the  period  of  his  malignant 
activity ;  but  it  intensifies  his  rage. 

The  Two  Wild  Beasts,  Chap.  xiii. 

"And  he  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea"  (xiii:  i 
R.  v.).  It  is  the  Dragon  that  thus  stands  by  the  sea- 
shore. Defeated  in  his  efforts  to  "  drown  "  the  Wo- 
man (xii:  15,  16),  i.  e,,  Israel's  newly  converted  "  first- 
fruits,"  Satan  now  calls  into  action  his  two  agents 
and  allies,  the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet.  Out  of 
the  sea  the  first  wild  beast  rises  (cf.  Dan.  vii:  2). 
The  sea  torn  by  the  winds  is  the  lively  image  of  na- 
tions and  peoples  in  commotion  and  revolution.  It 
is  out  of  a  disrupted  condition  of  civil  society  this  huge 


96  THE  REVELATION. 

Beast  comes  into  being.  It  is  out  of  such  a  state 
imperialism  always  originates.  By  these  two  formid- 
able agents,  the  reorganized  imperial  World-sove- 
reignty and  the  False  Prophet,  the  devil  will  make 
war  against  the  Woman's  seed,  seek  to  destroy  Is- 
rael, and  so  thwart  the  gracious  purposes  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

The  Beast  from  the  sea  is  the  heir  and  successor  of 
Daniel's  four,  which  are  symbols  of  successive  empires 
or  kingdoms  (Dan.  vii:  17,  23) — the  Babylonian, 
Medo-Persian,  Greco-Macedonian,  and  Roman.  This 
is  evident  from  the  composition  of  John's  great  symbol. 
The  lion,  the  bear,  the  leopard,  and  the  ten-horned 
monster,  each  distinct  in  Daniel,  are  all  united  in  one 
in  John's,  xiii :  2.  He  has  seven  heads  and  ten  horns 
with  ten  diadems  on  his  horns.  The  great  red  dragon 
of  xii:  3  has  the  same  number  of  heads  and  horns. 
Are  there,  then,  two  separate  powers,  the  Dragon  and 
the  Beast,  in  the  field  of  action  at  the  same  time? 
Certainly  not.  When  first  seen  by  John  in  his  vision, 
the  Dragon  has  the  symbolic  form  of  the  Beast;  he 
has  seven  heads  and  ten  horns;  but  he  transfers  his 
"  power,  and  his  throne,  and  great  authority  "  (xiii :  2) 
to  his  ungodly  agent.  It  is  through  this  new  force 
the  devil  will  exert  all  his  energy  and  vent  all  his  rage. 

The  seven  heads  represent  seven  kings  or  kingdoms 
(Dan.  vii:  17,  23;  Rev.  xvii:  10).  Five  of  them  had 
fallen  when  John  wrote,  the  sixth,  the  Roman  Empire, 
was  then  dominant  over  most  of  earth.  A  seventh 
kingdom,  universal  in  its  sway  and  altogether  satanic 
in  its  origin  and  character,  was  to  come  and  was  to 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS.  97 

endure  for  a  short  space,  Rev.  xvii:  10.  One  of  the 
heads,  presumably  the  sixth,  the  Roman,  was  seen 
wounded  unto  death.  It  fell  beneath  the  victorious 
swords  of  the  so-called  Barbarians,  the  Goths,  Van- 
dals, Huns,  and  other  foes,  and  it  ceased  to  be.  But 
it  is  to  be  restored  to  life;  the  Seer  adds,  it  "shall 
come,"  or,  as  the  Sinai  MS.  expressively  reads,  "  it 
shall  be  present  again."  A  worldwide  sovereignty, 
energized  by  Satan  and  his  most  obedient  tool,  is  yet 
to  arise.  We  hold  that  these  seven  heads  or  empires 
of  the  Beast  from  the  sea  are  not'  seven  forms  of  rule 
of  the  Roman  State,  as  many  writers  affirm;  e.  g., 
kings,  consuls,  decemvirs,  military  tribunes,  dictators, 
emperors.  They  are  successive  empires ;  they  stand 
for  those  world-powers  that  have  been  the  oppressors 
and  persecutors  of  God's  people.  We  believe  they 
symbolize  the  following  kingdoms:  Egypt,  Assyria, 
Babylon,  Medo-Persia,  Greece,  Rome.  This  view  is 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in  John's  huge  Beast  all 
the  characteristic  features  of  Daniel's  four  Brutes  are 
found  (cf.  Dan.  vii:  1-7;  Rev.  xiii:  2).  These  six 
Powers  have  long  since  disappeared.  No  world-sov- 
ereignty has  there  been  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  Ambitious  soldiers  like  Charlemagne  and 
the  first  Napoleon  have  attempted  the  formation  of 
one  universal  government  with  himself  at  its  head; 
but  they  have  utterly  failed.  Prophecy  distinctly  an- 
nounces that  one  vast  united  kingdom  shall  yet  arise. 
It  will  come  at  the  time  of  the  end  of  the  age.  It  will 
consist  of  ten  confederated  kingdoms,  each  ruled  over 
by  a  king.  So  much  the  ten  "  horns  "  signify,  xvii : 
7 


98  THE  REVELATION. 

12.  On  the  Dragon's  heads  John  saw  diadems.  But 
when  the  Beast  from  the  sea  shall  appear  the  diadems 
are  transferred  to  the  ten  "  horns,"  or  ten  kings,  who 
rule  in  unison  with  the  imperial  head.     In  chap,  xvii: 

13,  14  we  are  told  "  they  receive  authority,  with  the 
beast,  for  one  hour."  "  One  hour  "  certainly  does  not 
denote  mere  time,  a  space  of  sixty  minutes,  but  one 
and  the  same  time.  They  enter  into  a  close  alliance  with 
the  Beast  at  one  and  the  same  time,  and  he  and  they 
thereby  constitute  in  their  united  capacity  the  vast  fede- 
ration, the  consolidated  world-empire  of  the  last  days. 
These  ten  kings  "  give  their  power  and  their  strength 
unto  the  Beast."  On  a  worldwide  scale  there  will 
then  be  constituted  the  United  States  of  the  prophetic 
earth.  Such  a  form  of  government  on  so  vast  a  scale 
has  never  yet  been  seen.  But  God's  word  solemnly 
predicts  that  there  shall  be.  As  a  personal  belief  we 
may  add  that  it  will  have  for  its  center  and  its  seat 
the  nations  of  Europe,  particularly  those  grouped 
around  the  Mediterranean  sea.  Out  of  the  present 
European  state  system  the  coming  federated  Empire 
will  be  formed,  though  it  will  not  be  confined  to  these. 
That  there  are  tendencies  now  discernible  for  such  an 
international  union  no  thoughtful  person  can  fail  to 
see.  Our  age  is  pre-eminently  a  federating  age.  For 
years  the  "  triple  Alliance  "  of  Germany,  Austria  and 
Italy  has  existed.  France,  Spain  and  Great  Britain 
stand  together  in  support  of  certain  Continental  issues. 
Russia,  the  United  States  (for  our  country  is  tending 
manifestly  toward  the  place  and  the  obligations  of  a 
world-power),  and  even  Japan  of  the  far  East,  all 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS. 


99 


seem  to  be  gravitating  toward  a  common  cause  and 
common  center.  The  formation  of  a  confederate, 
universal  sovereignty,  such  as  prophecy  clearly  indi- 
cates, is  not  only  possible,  but  it  may  be  realized  in 
few  years  from  now. 

At  the  head  of  this  huge  organization  will  stand  the 
peerless  man,  the  Satan-inspired  man,  the  man  in  mil- 
itary genius  and  executive  capacity,  in  intellectual 
brilliancy  and  savage  ferocity,  surpassing  all  other 
men.  He  and  the  Empire  over  which  he  shall  rule 
are  so  thoroughly  identified  in  the  prophetic  revela- 
tion as  that  they  receive  the  same  descriptive  title, 
the  awful  name — The  Beast!  Three  inspired  proph- 
ets, Daniel,  Paul  and  John,  furnish  a  full  description 
of  the  powers,  action  and  end  of  this  coming  man. 
In  Daniel  he  has  "  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man,"  "  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things "  "  against  the  Most 
High ;"  he  "  does  according  to  his  will ;"  "  magnifies 
himself  above  every  god,  nor  regards  the  God  of  his 
fathers ;"  before  him  three  of  the  horns  "  are  plucked 
up  by  the  roots  f  "  he  wears  out  the  saints ;"  and  he 
practices  and  prospers  for  "  a  time,  and  times,  and  the 
dividing  of  time"  (three  and  a  half  years)  (vii:  8, 
24,  25  ;  xi :  36,  37). 

In  Thess.  ii  he  is  the  "  Man  of  Sin ;"  one  whose  in- 
ner element  and  outer  characteristic  is  sin,  and 
nothing  but  sin.  He  has  a  coming  {paroiisia)2ind  an 
apocalypse,  like  the  Son  of  God.  He  exalts  himself 
above  all  that  is  called  God  or  that  is  worshipped. 
His  coming  is  according  to  the  working  of  Satan  with 
all  signs  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  deceit  of 


ICX)  THE  REVELATION. 

unrighteousness.  He  takes  his  seat  in  the  temple  of 
God  and  sets  himself  forth  as  God.  Treason  against 
God  is  his  uncommon  crime.  In  First  John,  ii:  22, 
he  is  the  Antichrist  who  denieth  the  Father  and  the 
Son." 

In  Revelation  (xiii:  5-8)  he  blasphemes  God,  the 
divine  Name^  the  heavenly  Tabernacle,  and  all  who 
dwell  in  heaven;  makes  war  against  the  saints  and 
overcomes  them;  and  he  continues  forty-two  months 
(three  and  a  half  years).  Such  in  brief  is  the  por- 
trait given  by  the  Spirit  of  God  of  the  coming  Man, 
the  Antichrist,  the  mock  Messiah. 

His  origin  is  mysterious,  apparently  supernatural. 
Twice  in  the  Apocalypse  it  is  said  he  "  ascends  out 
of  the  bottomless  pit,"  xi :  7 ;  xvii :  8.  There  is  some- 
thing darkly  significant  in  these  words — "  he  cometh 
up  out  of  the  abyss."  Some  think  he  will  be  the  devil 
incarnate;  others,  that  he  will  be  an  ancient  foe  like 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  or  Nero,  who  shall  return  to 
earth  from  the  nether  world.  Many  think  he  will  be 
an  apostate  Jew.  But  whoever  he  will  be  or  whence, 
one  thing  is  certain,  when  he  comes  Satan  will  give 
him  his  power  and  his  throne  and  great  authority, 
will  fill  him  from  head  to  heel  with  his  infernal  energy, 
and  dower  him  with  more  than  human  craft  and  cun- 
ning. 

The  second  Beast  rises  from  the  earth,  xiii:  11-18. 
His  appearance,  two-horned  as  a  lamb,  suggests  harm- 
lessness  and  even  weakness,  but  his  voice  has  in  it  the 
roar  of  the  Dragon.  His  character  is  diabolic,  and  he 
acts  in  complete  harmony  with  the  other  Beast,  the 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS.  loi 

ten-horned  and  seven-headed  monster.  This  is  the 
False  Prophet,  xvi:  13;  xix:  19;  xx:  10.  The  true 
prophet  lives  in  God's  presence  and  receives  his  mes- 
sages from  Him.  This  false  prophet  lives  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  monster  Beast,  and  derives  all  his  power 
and  authority  from  him.  It  is  his  business  to  pro- 
mote the  worship  of  the  Beast  and  to  bring  the  whole 
world  into  subjection  to  him,  ver.  12.  He  is  not  an 
independent  actor  in  the  scenes  of  the  End-time,  he 
is  subordinate  to  the  first  Beast,  and  is  his  servant  and 
minister.  Hence  he  simulates  or  actually  works  mir- 
acles, bringing  fire  from  heaven  as  Elijah  did  at  Car- 
mel,  and  endowing  the  image  of  the  Beast  which  he 
constructs  with  apparent  life  and  speech.  But  let  it 
be  noted  that  he  does  not  claim  divine  homage  for  him- 
self. This  the  Antichrist  emphatically  does,  as  the 
prophets  Daniel,  Paul  (2  Thess.  ii:  4),  and  John 
(xiii:  3,  8),  attest.  Therefore  the  lamb-like  beast  is 
not  the  Antichrist,  though  in  spirit  and  action  he  re- 
sembles him.  He  is  Antichrist's  "  armour-bearer," 
as  Iren^us  calls  him ;  he  is  his  prime  minister  and  ally. 
Furthermore,  he  binds  into  a  vast  union  or  corpora- 
tion all  the  followers  of  the  Beast,  and  brands  them 
each  with  his  mark  and  number  in  the  forehead  and  in 
the  right  hand,  so  that  none  may  buy  or  sell  unless 
he  belongs  to  the  Federation  and  bears  the  Beast's 
cipher — the  most  stupendous  system  of  "  boycott " 
ever  established !  The  brand  impressed  on  the  Beast's 
subjects  is  his  own  name,  or  the  number  of  his  name, 
ver.  17.  It  seems  very  likely,  therefore,  that  the  name 
has  a  numerical  value  which  is  found  in  the  addition 


102  THE  REVELATION. 

of  the  letters  forming  the  name,  as  most,  if  not  all, 
interpreters  believe.  The  number  of  the  name  is 
given  as  666,  a  trinity  of  sixes,  but  one  short  of  per- 
fection. A  perfect  trinity  of  the  number  would  be 
'j'jy.  Antichrist's  enigmatical  monagram  falls  short 
of  completeness  by  a  trine  set  of  digits.  ''  It  is  the 
number  of  a  man;"  that  is,  so  far  as  the  arithmetic 
goes,  it  is  human,  not  that  of  a  brute,  nor  of  a  spirit, 
such  as  the  devil  is:  Antichrist  is  human,  a  man. 
What  his  name  is  or  will  be  is  absolutely  unknown. 
Guesses  there  are  in  plenty  from  Irenseus'  Lateinos 
down  to  Napoleon.  It  is  useless  to  add  others  to  the 
conjectural  list.  When  the  Beast  is  actually  here  his 
name  with  its  enigmatical  number  will  be  well  known ; 
perhaps  not  sooner. 

Here,  then,  are  set  before  us  sinister  portraits  of  the 
foes  of  God  and  of  His  people  of  the  last  days :  the 
Dragon,  the  Beast,  and  the  False  Prophet,  a  triad  of 
diabolism.  Joined  with  these  and  their  dupes  are 
countless  multitudes  of  our  poor  race  who  shall  have 
deliberately  rejected  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God, 
and  shall  have  chosen  instead  the  strong  delusion  and 
the  lie,  2  Thess.  ii:  9-1 1 ;  Rev.  xiii:  7,  8,  12,  14,  16. 


The  Program  of  the  End,  chap.  xiv. 

Chapter  xiv  contains  seven  visions  which  appear  to 
record  the  main  events  of  the  closing  days  of  our  age. 
Chronological  sequence  is  observed,  save  in  the  case 
of  the  first,  viz.:  the  144,000  with  the  Lamb  on  Mt. 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS.  103 

Zion.  This  scene  is  anticipative  and  proleptic,  it  be- 
longs to  the  consummation,  and  even  beyond,  to  the 
Millennium  itself.  If  the  Dragon  is  active  in  ordering 
his  forces  for  the  final  struggle,  xiv:  1-5,  encourages 
us  with  the  assurance  that  the  Lamb  is  gathering, 
guarding  and  fitting  His  own  loyal  company  for  the 
part  they  have  in  the  execution  of  His  plans.  The 
number  144,000  no  doubt  is  in  a  sense  ideal,  a  round 
number,  not  necessarily  literal,  and  it  is  made  up 
largely,  if  not  exclusively,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
the  new  Israel.  That  these  are  to  be  identified  with 
the  same  number  in  (vii:  1-8)  it  seems  certain.  The 
number  is  the  same ;  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads 
there  corresponds  with  the  name  of  God  in  their  fore- 
heads here.  The  change  from  seal  to  name  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  mark  in  the  forehead  and  hand 
imposed  on  the  followers  of  the  Beast.  God  will  have 
His  ransomed  ones  to  bear  His  own  blessed  name  as 
their  distinguishing  mark.  They  have  been  redeemed 
from  earth;  they  are  holy  and  blameless;  they  follow 
the  Lamb  as  devoted  and  obedient  servants;  and  they 
stand  with  Him  on  Mount  Zion,  the  earthly  center  for 
blessing  for  the  whole  race,  the  point  of  departure  for 
the  millennial  kingdom  and  latter-day  glory.  They 
also  are  the  firstfruits  unto  God  and  the  Lamb,  which 
means  that  all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  for  these  redeemed 
are  the  pledge  and  sample  thereof;  and  they  are  be- 
sides, as  firstfruits,  '*  the  Divine  kernel,"  as  Auberlen 
names  them,  of  the  new  humanity,  the  seed  by  which 
the  purified  earth  shall  be  peopled. 

But  must  we  confine  the  144,000  to  the  redeemed  of 


104  THE  REVELATION. 

Israel  ?  May  there  not  be  saved  Gentiles  among  them  ? 
There  is  profound  significance  in  the  promise  to  the 
overcomers  of  the  church  of  Philadelphia:  "Because 
thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will 
keep  thee  from  the  hour  trial,  which  shall  come  upon 
all  the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth." 
Safety  in  the  hour  of  universal  trial  is  here  promised 
these  saints;  they  are  sheltered  by  the  power  of  the 
Lord.  There  is  no  hint  that  a  "  rapture  "  of  these 
from  the  earth  takes  place;  the  Greek  preposition 
(ek)  forbids  the  notion.  The  promise  appears  to  sig- 
nify that  they  shall  be  in  the  hour  of  trial,  but  they 
shall  be  kept  in  safety,  and  shall  come  out  of  it  un- 
scathed and  untouched.  So  also  the  144,000  of  vii :  1-8 ; 
ix:  4;  xiv:  1-5.  These  likewise  are  safe  in  the  hour 
of  trial.  In  the  latter  vision  the  Beast  and  False 
Prophet,  the  tribulation,  and  the  suffering  are  all  be- 
hind them ;  they  are  forever  secure  on  Mount  Zion 
with  the  Lamb.  Besides,  the  saints  in  Philadelphia 
have  Christ's  name  and  the  Father's  written  upon 
them,  as  the  144,000  have  (Rev.  iii.  12). 

Vision  of  World-wide  Preaching,  xiv:  6,  7. 

In  both  the  noun  and  verb  forms  of  this  proclama- 
tion there  is  the  idea  of  glad  tidings,  good  news — the 
Gospel.  It  is  called  "  everlasting,"  both  because  of 
what  it  is  in  itself  and  what  it  promises;  it  is  eternal 
as  to  the  salvation  it  offers  and  as  to  the  bliss  it 
pledges.  The  preaching  is  universal,  to  all  that  dwell 
(Grk.  sit,  as  if  content  with  their  lot)  upon  the  earth. 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS.  105 

Hope  this  preaching  holds  out,  but  it  is  conditional, 
brief.  "  Fear  God,  and  give  him  glory ;  for  the  hour 
of  his  judgment  is  come."  A  strange  Gospel  surely! 
Judgment  is  impending,  it  is  at  hand,  but  an  hour  off ! 
Therefore  "  fear  God  " — reverence,  honor,  obey  and 
trust  Him,  for  His  terrific  judgment  is  about  to  break 
down  upon  the  guilty.  It  is  the  time  of  the  End ;  the 
Beast,  the  False  Prophet,  the  Dragon  are  all  on  the 
stage  of  action  now,  and  the  closing  scenes  are  at 
hand.  This  is  God's  last,  merciful  appeal — His  final 
call.  It  connects  with  our  Lord's  words  in  Matt, 
xxiv:  14:  "And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
preached  in  all  the  world  as  a  witness  to  all  nations; 
and  then  shall  the  end  come." 

The  Fall  of  Babylon  Announced,  xiv:  8. 

This  is  the  first  mention  of  Babylon  in  the  book,  but 
the  seer  will  return  to  the  grim  topic  and  give  us  a 
full-length  portrait  of  it,  xvii,  xviii.  Here  Babylon 
is  spoken  of  as  a  corrupt  and  corrupting  system  by 
which  the  nations  of  earth  are  debauched.  Her  doom 
is  announced  in  very  striking  terms :  "  Fallen,  fallen  is 
Babylon  the  great,  which  hath  made  all  the  nations  to 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication." 
Babylon's  overthrow  is  one  of  the  first  chief  events 
succeeding  the  proclamation  that  the  hour  of  God's 
judgment  is  come. 

Solemn  Warning  against  any  Partnership  with  the 
Beast,  xiv:  9-12.  The  most  appalling  alternatives  will 
confront  men  in  the  days  when  the  Beast  comes  to  the 


I06  THE  REVELATION. 

climax  of  his  wickedness  and  despotism.  Either  men 
must  worship  him  and  receive  his  brand  as  being  his 
property,  or  they  must  die,  xiii:  15.  Either  they  must 
utterly  repudiate  him  and  his  worship  and  his  rule,  or 
they  must  suffer  the  awful  torment  prepared  for  the 
lost,  xiv:  10,  II.  There  will  be  saints  who  will  resist 
him  to  the  death,  xiii:  7;  xiv:  12.  Dreadful  as  will 
be  the  judgments  of  heaven  on  the  apostates  of  that 
time,  they  will  have  no  cause  to  complain,  for  here 
God  in  His  abundant  mercy,  when  the  very  end  itself 
is  in  full  view,  appeals  to  men  and  warns  them  as  He 
alone  can  to  flee  for  their  lives  from  all  contact  and 
commerce  with  the  Beast. 

Blessedness  of  Those  Who  Die  from  Henceforth, 

xiv:  13. 

The  sweetness  and  depth  of  this  gracious  announce- 
ment is,  "  henceforth,"  i.  e.,  from  this  time  on.  The 
Great  Tribulation  is  now  running  its  sanguinary 
course;  the  Beast  has  control  of  the  world  itself,  and 
is  doing  his  will  with  none  to  hinder,  so  it  seems. 
Saints  fall  beneath  his  cruel  decrees.  But  they,  not 
he,  are  the  conquerors;  they  die,  but  they  rest  from 
their  toils,  from  their  anguish  and  their  agony  (cf. 
vi:  II ;  2  Thess.  i:  7).  The  time  of  suffering  is  fore- 
shortened (Matt,  xxiv:  22).  At  the  utmost  it  is  but 
three  years  and  a  half,  xiii :  5.  But  the  promise  in 
Matt,  xxiv:  22  (cf.  Mark  xiii:  20)  seems  to  limit  even 
this  period,  so  that  in  the  case  of  the  saints  it  will  not 
run  its  full  course ;  they  shall  be  taken  out  of  it  ere  the 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS.  107 

whole  of  it  has  closed.     Their  resurrection  and  glori- 
fication are  near,  hence  they  are  "  blessed." 


The  Ha  vest,  xiv:  14-16. 

The  Reaper  is  none  other  than  the  Son  of  Man, 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  The  "  white  cloud  "  He  sits 
on  denotes  it,  for  it  is  the  symbol  of  the  Divine  pres- 
ence. In  the  Transfiguration  a  "  bright  cloud "  is 
seen.  Again  and  again  it  is  affirmed  He  will  come 
with  Clouds,  *' in  the  cloud"  (Lu.  xxi:  27).  He 
wears  a  Crown,  the  Victor's  Crown  (stephanos) ,  for 
now  He  is  to  show  Himself  the  Conqueror  of  death 
and  the  grave.  The  harvest  is  unquestionably  that 
of  the  gathering  of  the  righteous,  living  and  dead. 
Christ  Himself  declares  that  the  harvest  is  "  the  con- 
summation of  the  age,"  Matt,  xiii:  39.  And  here  the 
harvest  is  actually  come,  the  grain  is  "over-ripe;"  it 
must  be  gathered  and  garnered,  for  the  number  of 
the  redeemed  is  complete,  is  filled  up.  The  Royal 
Reaper  here  is  the  Son  of  God,  but  angels  are  associ- 
ated with  Him,  as  He  Himself  says,  Matt,  xiii:  39. 
The  same  supreme  event  is  thus  described  by  the  Lord 
in  His  Olivet  prediction:  "And  he  shall  send  his  an- 
gels with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet;  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  select  from  the  four  winds,  from 
one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other"  (Matt,  xxv:  31). 
Still  another  inspired  account  of  this  majestic  scene  is 
I  Thess.  iv:  13-18.  Here  is  described  in  symbol  the 
final  and  universal  gathering  of  God's  people  into  the 
everlasting  Kingdom  by  resurrection  and  translation. 


ao8  THE  REVELATION. 

It  occurs  before  the  wrath  of  God  is  poured  out,  but 
not  before  the  Tribulation,  if  this  chapter  does  really 
present  the  order  of  events  at  the  time  of  the  End,  as 
it  certainly  seems  to  do.  But  the  harvest  may  be 
reaped  before  the  hour  of  the  great  trial  has  run  its 
course,  as  already  intimated.  Hence  the  comforting 
assurance  given  the  martyrs  in  ver.  13. 

The  Vintage,  xiv:  17-20. 

This  is  the  seventh  event  of  the  chapter,  the  last  and 
the  most  terrible  of  all.  It  represents  the  wrath  of 
God  poured  out  to  the  uttermost  upon  the  ungodly, 
the  destroyers  of  the  earth  (xi:  18).  It  is  the  Day 
of  Judgment,  the  day  of  vengeance,  the  day  of  the 
perdition  of  ungodly  men.  The  figure  of  the  vintage 
for  this  awful  day  of  wrath  is  common  to  the  prophets. 
Isaiah  uses  it  of  the  avenging  Messiah,  "  I  have  trod- 
den the  winepress  alone;  I  will  tread  them  in  mine 
anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury;  their  blood  shall 
be  sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all 
my  raiment"  (Isa.  Ixiii:  1-4).  Joel  in  like  manner, 
''Come,  tread  ye:  for  the  winepress  is  full,  the  fats 
overflow"  (Joel,  iii:  11,  12,  14;  Rev.  xix:  15);  "and 
he  treadeth  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  of  the 
wrath  of  Almighty  God."  It  is  the  time  of  ven- 
geance untempered  with  any  mercy,  wrath  unmixed 
with  any  compassion,  for  long  He  has  been  still  and 
refrained  Himself,  but  now  He  will  destroy  and  de- 
vour at  once,  Isa.  xlii:  13,  14.  Parallel  with  this 
judgment  scene  is  the  tremendous  revelation  of  chap. 


THE  INTERCALATED  VISIONS. 


109 


xix:  1 1 -2 1.  The  event  is  the  same  in  both  places. 
The  vintage  here  is  identical  with  the  Advent  there, 
and  with  the  hurling  of  the  Beast  and  the  False 
Prophet  alive  into  the  Lake  of  Fire,  and  with  the 
slaughter  of  their  armies. 

No  saints  of  God  will  be  found  in  the  winepr,ess 
judgment.  They  are  delivered  from  "  the  wrath  to 
come  "  (i  Thess.  i:  10)  :  "And  to  you  who  are  trou- 
bled, rest  with  us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  re- 
vealed from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,  in  flam- 
ing fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  2  Thess.  i :  7,  8.  The  prophets  attest,  how- 
ever, that  in  those  days  of  the  divine  judgments  Is- 
rael as  the  chosen  people  will  be  delivered  and  blessed 
and  be  made  a  blessing,  Joel  iii:  17-21;  Zech.  xiv: 
8-21.  But  the  saints  who  have  gone  through  the 
Tribulation  will  be  gathered  in  the  blessed  Harvest- 
home  safe  from  the  devouring  wrath  and  the  con- 
suming fire  of  God's  vengeance. 

With  these  closing  scenes  of  our  age  as  depicted  in 
our  chapter  are  associated  the  Vials  of  Chap.  xvi. 
These  are  described  as  containing  the  seven  last 
plagues,  i.  e.,  the  divine  judgments  which  are  consum- 
mated in  the  End-time,  "  for  in  them  is  finished  the 
wrath  of  God."  The  Vials  cover  the  last  three  years 
and  a  half  of  the  End^  and  they  terminate  with  the 
vintage. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

The  Seven  Last  Plagues,  xv,  xvi. 

Before  describing  the  pouring  out  of  the  Vials  the 
Seer  narrates  a  vision  of  the  victors  at  the  sea  of 
glass,  XV :  2-4.  The  sea  is  of  glass,  not  of  water;  it 
is  solid;  for  upon  (epi)  it  the  victorious  band  stands. 
The  figure  of  the  glassy  sea  seems  to  be  taken  from 
the  "molten  sea  "  of  Solomon's  Temple  (i  K.  vii:  23), 
though  v^^ith  changes.  "  The  molten  sea "  was  for 
the  purification  of  the  hands  and  the  feet  of  the 
priests;  but  this  glassy  sea  is  immaculate  and  unde- 
filable.  Those  who  stand  upon  it  likewise  are  holy 
and  pure,  they  need  no  washing,  they  have  been  for- 
ever cleansed  from  all  defilement.  They  have  come 
to  this  exalted  position  after  trial  and  suffering. 
They  have  gotten  victory  over  the  Beast  and  over  his 
image  and  over  his  name.  Obviously  they  have  been 
through  the  Great  Tribulation.  But  now  the  scene 
of  conflict  is  past.  They  standi  like  Israjel  of  old,  on 
the  triumphant  side  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  they  lift  up 
their  voices  in  exultant  song.  Their  song  is  that  of 
Moses  the  servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  This  fact 
intimates,  perhaps,  that  they  are  of  Jewish  origin. 
If  so,  they  belong  to  the  martyred  remnant  referred 
to  in  xii:  11,  17.  But  we  are  not  to  exclude  Gentile 
martyrs  from  this  company  on  the  glassy  sea;  per- 
haps we  should  not  err  greatly  if  we  included  the  in- 

IIO 


THE  SEVEN  LAST  PLAGUES.      [HE 

numerable  host  of  vii:  9-17  among  them.  They  exalt 
God's  marvellous  works  in  their  song-works  of  right- 
eous judgment  which  He  has  poured  upon  the  wicked, 
for  they  have  been  witnesses  of  their  sins  and  crimes. 
They  celebrate  Him  as  "  King  of  the  ages  "  ("  King 
of  saints"  of  A.  V.  is  no  doubt  wrong). 

The  vision  is  beyond  question  prospective,  proleptic. 
It  relates  to  the  time  when  the  Tribulation  is  past,  the 
judgments  have  fallen,  and  God's  justice  has  at  length 
been  fully  vindicated. 

The  Vials  (xvi)  are  in  reality  bowls,  as  the  Revisors 
translate;  they  are  like  the  cups  of  the  Temple,  broad 
and  deep,  used  for  pouring  out  the  drink-offering. 
The  Vials,  of  course,  are  figures  of  speech;  they  rep- 
resent the  concentrated,  tremendous  judgments  which 
God  will  visit  upon  the  ungodly  of  the  End-time. 
Their  action  is  amazingly  swift  and  continuous. 
There  seems  to  be  no  pause  between  them. 

The  Seven  Plagues  have  affinity  with  the  judg- 
ments inflicted  on  Egypt  (Ex.  vii:  20,  21;  viii:  5,  6; 
ix:  15-17,  etc.),  and  particularly  with  the  first  four 
Trumpets  (viii:  7-12).  God  scourges  the  wicked 
with  nature's  forces  as  once  He  did  the  Egyptians, 
and  as  He  often  chastised  Israel  by  like  means.  But 
when  these  Plagues  are  poured  out  the  whole  world 
will  feel  the  fearful  visitation.  Earth,  air,  water  and 
sun — man's  beneficent  servants — will  then  become  in- 
struments of  torture  and  of  death,  and  the  spirits  of 
the  elements  will  justify  God  in  His  righteous  deal- 
ings with  the  ungodly. 

The  Plagues  have  features  peculiar  to  themselves. 


(113  THE  REVELATION. 

The  fourth  is  entirely  new;  the  others  are  more  in- 
tense and  violent  in  their  action  than  the  Trumpets. 
The  fifth  deals  directly  with  the  Beast's  seat  of  power; 
judicial  blindness  smites  his  kingdom;  madness  and 
defiance  rule.  But  while  men  gnaw  their  tongues  for 
pain  and  writhe  in  agony  amid  dreadful  suffering, 
they  grow  more  hardened  and  blaspheme  their  al- 
mighty Judge. 

The  sixth  Vial  Is  poured  out  on  Euphrates.  The 
sixth  Trumpet  also  deals  with  the  same  river;  but  it 
sets  loose  the  four  angels  bound  there,  who  then  slay 
the  third  part  of  men  (ix:  15).  Here  the  river  is 
dried  up  so  as  to  open  the  way  for  the  coming  of  the 
kings  from  the  sunrising.  The  Euphrates  was  the 
boundary  and  eastern  limit  of  the  old  Roman  Em- 
pire. In  the  new  and  satanic  empire  which  shall 
arise  every  barrier  is  gone,  and  armies  from  the  far 
East  may  freely  pass  to  the  place  of  the  final  struggle. 
The  vast  hordes  of  Asia  will  be  involved  in  the  deci- 
sive and  overwhelming  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God 
the  Almighty,  no  less  than  those  of  other  continents. 

A  marvellous  thing  happens  in  connection  with  the 
action  of  this  Vial,  three  frog-like  spirits  issue  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Dragon,  of  the  Beast,  and  of  the 
False  Prophet.  They  are  demons,  vile  and  loath- 
some, yet  possessed  with  immense  power.  They  rep- 
resent the  malign  influence  which  this  devilish  triad 
will  exert  over  the  world;  it  is  by  them  that  earth's 
armies  will  be  organized  and  led  into  the  field  for  the 
great  battle  with  God.  It  is  plainly  said  they  are 
demons.     By  their  persuasiveness  of  speech,  by  the 


THE  SEVEN  LAST  PLAGUES. 


113 


signs  and  wonders  they  will  work,  and  by  their  tire- 
less energy,  they  will  lead  astray  the  unbelieving 
world,  and  countless  hosts  will  march  to  Har-Magedon 
to  their  awful  doom.  "  Kings  of  the  whole  world  " 
shows  how  complete  the  success  of  these  frog-like 
demons  will  be.  The  earth  will  then  be  in  revolt 
against  God.  The  events  of  the  End-time  will  be 
world-wide.  A  prophetic  word  spoken  by  the  Lord 
Jesus  Himself  discloses  how  universal  the  delusions 
of  men  will  be  in  that  day :  "  For  there  shall  arise  false 
Christs  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show  signs  and 
wonders,  that  they  may  lead  astray,  if  possible,  the 
elect"  (Mark  xiii:  22). 

The  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  Vial  upon  the  air, 
and  a  great  Voice  from  the  Throne  proclaimed,  "  It 
is  done."  The  judgments  are  exhausted,  the  wrath  is 
finished. 

Babylon  comes  into  remembrance  before  God.  In 
chap,  xiv :  8  the  fall  of  Babylon  is  noted  as  the  third 
event  in  the  series  of  the  time  of  the  End.  Here  its 
judgment  seems  to  be  placed  under  the  seventh  Vial. 
There  is  no  real  discrepancy.  In  chap,  xvi:  17-21 
the  closing  scenes  are  summed  up  together,  and  tem- 
poral sequence  is  not  strictly  observed.  The  great 
city,  and  the  cities  of  the  nations,  and  islands,  and 
mountains,  and  Babylon,  all  share  in  the  terrific  judg- 
ments. Besides,  chaps,  xvii  and  xviii  make  it  evi- 
dent that  the  corrupt  ecclesiastical  system  ("  The 
Harlot ")  and  "  Babylon  "  symbolize  both  a  religious 
apostasy  and  a  city,  so  that  it  is  possible  that  some 

brief  time  may  elapse  between  the  overthrow  of  the 
8 


ttI4  THE  REVELATION. 

one  and  of  the  other:  the  system  may  fall  first,  the 
city  next  in  the  final  order  of  the  events.  A  precious 
word  in  parenthesis  is  given  us,  xvi:  15:  ("Behold, 
I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth,  and 
keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see 
his  shame.")  It  is  for  His  saints.  The  last  blows 
are  about  to  fall,  but  He  is  speedily  coming  now,  so 
watch ! 

Thus  we  come  to  the  close  of  the  three  great  sep- 
tinaries.  Seals,  Trumpets  and  Vials.  A  kind  of  pro- 
gression is  marked  by  them.  The  opening  of  the 
Seals  reveals  the  events  about  to  happen.  The  blasts 
of  the  Trumpets  announce  the  events  as  forthcoming. 
The  outpouring  of  the  Vials  execute  them,  and  so 
close  the  whole,  God's  righteous  wrath  being  now 
finished. 

Once  more  the  statement  must  be  made  that  these 
Visions  are  contemporaneous,  not  successive,  with 
long  stretches  of  time  lying  between  them,  as  the  his- 
torical interpreters  affirm.  All  three  end  at  the  same 
supreme  event,  the  Consummation,  although  they  do 
not  start  at  the  same  point.  The  first  four  Seals  ap- 
pear to  be  prior  to  the  seven  years  of  Daniel's  last 
great  Week,  within  which  so  mighty  events  are 
crowded.  These  Seals  make  ready  the  way  for  those 
momentous  years.  The  remaining  three  Seals  be- 
long to  that  Week  in  both  its  halves. 

The  Trumpets  sound  during  the  whole  of  the  Week, 
the  Woe  Trumpets  no  doubt  belong  to  the  second  half. 

The  Vials  pertain  to  the  second  half,  the  final  three 
years  and  a  half^  the  time  when  the  Beast  is  doing  his 


THE  SEVEN  LAST  PLAGUES.  1115 

worst,  when  the  Great  Tribulation  is  running  its  awful 
course,  and  wickedness  and  crime  are  at  the  flood. 
These  Bowls  are  filled  full  with  the  wrath  of  God, 
and  in  them  the  wrath  is  finished,  xv:  i,  7.  Judg- 
ment has  completed  its  stern  work  with  the  outpour- 
ing of  the  Vials. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Interposed  Explanatory  Visions,  chaps,  xvii-xix: 

i-io. 

The  visions  recorded  in  this  great  section  of  the 
book  are  interposed  between  the  Vials  (xvi)  and  the 
Advent  of  Christ,  xix:  ii.  They  are  designed  to 
furnish  us  with  more  definite  and  comprehensive  in- 
formation touching  the  character  and  the  doom  of 
Babylon  the  Great.  Twice  already  has  this  evil  sys- 
tem named  Babylon  been  mentioned,  xiv:  8;  xvi:  19; 
but  no  explanation  is  there  given  of  it.  But  now  once 
more  the  Seer,  as  is  his  wont,  goes  back  to  open  a 
new  episode  in  his  marvellous  revelations,  and  he 
does  so  that  he  may  explain  what  Babylon  is,  what  its 
evil  influence  has  been,  and  what  its  fate  shall  be. 
This  is  the  theme  of  these  chapters — Babylon  the 
Great,  the  Harlot,  the  Mother  of  Abominations.  Two 
gigantic  forms  of  evil  are  made  very  prominent  in 
the  Apocalypse :  the  one  is  the  revolt  of  the  civil  power 
against  God;  the  other  is  ecclesiastical  apostasy.  The 
first  is  prefigured  by  the  Beast;  the  second  by  the 
lewd  Woman,  the  Harlot.  This  latter  we  are  now  to 
study. 

I.  Note  the  prominence  of  Babylon  in  the  book, 
xiv:  8;  xvi:  19;  xvii,  xviii;  xix:  1-3.  One  chapter 
is  devoted  to  the  Beast,  with  reference  to  him  in  some 
others;  here  two  whole  chapters  are  occupied  with 

n6 


INTERPOSE  EXPLANATORY  VISIONS.       T.iy 

Babylon  and  the  Beast,  while  there  are  references  to 
it  in  three  others.  It  is  significant  that  it  is  one  of 
the  angels  of  the  seven  vials  that  shows  John  the 
judgment  of  the  Harlot.  As  these  spirits  are  the  ex- 
ecutors of  God's  wrath  on  the  Beast,  so  will  they  be 
in  the  destruction  of  Babylon. 

2.  Descriptive  names  of  Babylon.  It  is  called  a 
harlot,  ver.  i.  The  meaning  of  the  symbol  is  plain. 
Scripture  frequently  charges  Israel  with  the  sin  of 
adultery,  of  playing  the  harlot  (Ezek.  xvi;  Hos.  i, 
etc.).  A  city  also  is  declared  to  be  guilty  of  the  like 
sin,  e.  g.,  Jerusalem  (Ezek.  xvi:  2,  48).  By  this  is 
meant  that  a  people  or  city  in  relation  with  God  who 
becomes  unfaithful  to  Him,  who  breaks  covenant 
with  Him,  who  seeks  after  other  gods,  and  who  serves 
idols,  is  charged  with  the  crime  of  spiritual  adultery. 
Such  a  body  is  like  a  wife  who  proves  disloyal  to  her 
husband  and  her  vows,  and  gives  her  love  to  other 
men.  It  is  one  of  the  strongest  figures  the  Bible  uses 
to  express  God's  abhorrence  and  reprobation  of  un- 
faithfulness to  Him.  The  epithet,  harlot,  describes  an 
apostate  religious  system  or  community.  But  it  is 
noteworthy  that  while  Israel  become  idolatrous  is 
called  adulteress  because  she  is  Jehovah's  wife,  Baby- 
lon is  a  harlot  charged  with  fornication.  Not  once  in 
these  chapters  is  Babylon  called  adulteress,  nor  her 
sin  adultery,  but  uniformly  she  is  the  harlot  and  her 
sin  fornication.  Obviously  this  Woman  is  unlike  Is- 
rael in  her  relation  with  God,  and  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  that  people.  She  is  not  a  wife,  she 
may  be  "  espoused." 


Il8  THE  REVELATION. 

Moreover,  a  most  extraordinary  name  was  seen 
inscribed  on  her  forehead :  "  Mystery,  Babylon  the 
great,  the  mother  of  harlots  and  of  the  abominations 
of  the  earth,"  ver.  5.  Whether  the  term  "  mystery  " 
is  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  inscription  or  an 
explanation  of  the  content  of  the  inscription  is  not 
easy  to  determine.  Without  attempting  to  settle 
which  it  is,  let  it  suffice  now  to  say  that  the  word  cer- 
tainly designates  the  essential  nature  of  the  repulsive 
object  on  which  the  prophet  is  gazing.  The  fearful 
picture  represents  Babylon,  a  mysterious  system,  se- 
cret, fascinating  and  seductive  in  its  amazing  power 
and  influence.  "  Mystery  "  is  closely  akin  to  Paul's 
"mystery  of  iniquity"  (2  Thess.  ii:  7);  it  stands  in 
sharpest  antithesis  with  "  the  mystery  of  godliness  " 
(i  Tim.  iii:  16).  Wordsworth  defines  the  term  as 
"  a  secret  spell  bearing  the  semblance  of  sanctity." 

The  Scarlet  Woman  is  also  Babylon  the  Great. 
Old  Babylon  on  the  Euphrates  was  idolatrous,  intol- 
erant, proud,  despotic.  This  mystic  Babylon  is  idol- 
atrous and  fosters  idolatry.  She  is  the  prolific 
mother  of  abominations.  She  is  both  corrupt  and 
corrupting,  ''  the  Mother  of  Harlots."  The  virus  of 
the  evil  system  is  contagious,  infectious,  it  spreads 
over  the  earth.  She  is  a  fierce  persecutor,  is  seen  to 
be  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  whom  she  has 
ruthlessly  slaughtered.  Old  Babylon  was  likewise  in- 
tolerant and  a  persecutor.  One  instance  may  suflice 
as  proof.  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  great  king  of  Baby- 
lon, made  proclamation  that  "  all  people,  nations  and 
languages "    should   prostrate   themselves   before   the 


INTERPOSED   EXPLANATORY  VISIONS.        119 

golden  image  which  he  had  set  up.  The  edict  was 
enforced  by  the  savage  threat  that  all  who  refused 
should  be  cast  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace.  Three 
Hebrews  refused  to  worship  the  royal  idol,  and  were 
cast  into  the  furnace.  The  new  mystic  Babylon  ex- 
hibits the  like  persecuting  spirit,  and  kills  all  who  re- 
fuse to  obey  her  idolatrous  mandates.  The  names 
inscribed  on  her  forehead  witness  to  her  character. 
Israel's  high  priest  bore  a  golden  plate  on  his  fore- 
head with  the  ineffable  name  inscribed  on  it :  "  Holi- 
ness to  the  Lord."  The  Scarlet  Woman  bears  on 
hers  a  cluster  of  names  that  brand  her  as  most  impure, 
most  loathsome.  She  is  both  a  temptress  and  be- 
trayer of  peoples  and  nations,  xvii :  2,  4 ;  xviii :  3 ; 
xix:  2.  She  intoxicates  the  world  with  the  wine  of 
the  fury  of  her  seductions,  she  drugs  them  with  her 
deadly  love-potions.  She  is  presented  to  us  as  the 
vilest  of  all  vile  systems. 

3.  The  place  and  seat  that  this  symbolic  Woman  oc- 
cupies are  very  noteworthy.  She  sits  upon  many 
waters,  xvii:  i.  The  waters  are  explained  to  be 
"  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues." 
The  figure  denotes  the  widespread  influence  which  the 
system  exerts,  and  the  vastness  of  its  sway  over  man- 
kind. She  is  described  as  a  great  City,  xvii:  18; 
xviii :  10.  Babylon  the  Harlot,  the  corrupter  of  earth, 
has  its  seat  in  a  city  with  seven  hills.  Furthermore, 
she  has  her  seat  upon  the  Beast,  him  she  rules  as  her 
obedient  servant.  Her  seat  gives  her  a  proud  pre- 
eminence and  insures  her  victorious  sway.  The 
color  of  the  Beast  is  scarlet,  as  is  the  clothing  of  the 


120  THE  REVELATION. 

Woman,  indicative  of  the  blood  guiltiness  and  perse- 
cutions which  stain  them  both.  The  crimson-colored 
Beast  is  the  same  as  that  seen  rising  from  the  sea 
(xiii:  i),  the  blasphemous  and  cruel  World-power. 
The  hateful  picture  here  given  us  indicates  the  close 
association  the  Harlot  has  with  the  godless  State  and 
her  control  of  it.  Her  attire  is  very  notable  for  its 
brilliancy  and  its  richness;  scarlet,  purple,  precious 
stones  and  rare  gems  adorn  her.  Her  robes  are  im- 
perial, her  jewels  queenly.  In  dress  and  in  attitude 
her  meritricious  character  is  displayed :  "  Mystery, 
Babylon  the  Great,  the  Mother  of  Harlots  and  of  the 
abominations  of  the  earth. '^ 

Such  is  the  hideous  portrait  presented  to  us  by  the 
pen  of  inspiration  of  a  corrupt  and  corrupting  system 
that  once  had  fellowship  with  God  and  labored  faith- 
fully to  further  His  cause  among  men.  Now  alas! 
it  has  become  "  the  habitation  of  demons,  and  the  hold 
of  every  unclean  spirit,  and  the  hold  of  every  unclean 
and  hateful  bird''  (xviii:  2).  John  writes:  "And 
when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  with  a  great  wonder.'* 
It  is  not  surprising.  Who  does  not  feel  profound 
grief,  a  sense  of  sorrow  and  of  awe,  when  looking 
upon  the  dreadful  spectacle  of  a  fallen,  impure  or- 
ganization which  once  was  pure  and  true,  but  which 
now  has  become  unfaithful  and  vile? 

Who  or  what  is  this  Woman  with  her  twin  name  of 
Harlot  and  Babylon?  What  does  the  repulsive  sym- 
bol mean?  Are  the  predictions  about  her  sufficiently 
explicit  to  enable  us  to  identify  her?  Undoubtedly 
they  are.     More  than  once  in  the  course  of  these  notes 


INTERPOSED   EXPLANATORY  VISIONS.        121 

it  has  been  intimated  that  the  Harlot-Babylon  is  an 
apostate  religious  system.     But  what  system  is  meant? 

1.  The  Woman  is  sharply  distinguished  from  the 
Beast.  Beyond  all  denial,  if  the  Beast  be  the  World- 
power,  as  we  have  all  along  set  forth,  the  Woman 
cannot  be.  She  is  in  most  intimate  relations  with 
him,  but  from  him  she  is  distinct.  She  rides  him, 
therefore  she  is  not  the  same  as  he.  Before  this  fact 
the  historical  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse  com- 
pletely breaks  down.  That  view  makes  the  Beast  and 
the  Woman  the  same  thing — a  view  negatived  here. 

2.  The  Woman  cannot  be  the  star-crowned,  sun- 
clothed  Woman  of  chap,  xii:  i,  2.  It  is  Israel,  the 
Messianic  nation,  that  is  there  symbolized,  not  at  all 
the  Christian  Church.  Many  interpreters,  however, 
insist  that  the  Woman  of  chap,  xii  and  the  Harlot  of 
chap,  xvii  are  one  and  the  same;  that  she,  holy  and 
true  at  first,  became  at  length  degenerate  and  fell 
from  her  lofty  estate  and  became  at  last  the  unclean 
temptress  of  nations  and  the  assassin  of  the  saints. 
The  only  real  argument  for  the  identification  of  the 
two  Women  we  have  seen  is,  both  are  found  in  the 
"Wilderness."  But  the  sun-clothed  Woman  is  there 
sheltered  from  the  wrath  of  the  Great  Red  Dragon, 
and  is  nourished  of  God  there  for  three  and  a  half 
3^ears,  the  period  of  the  g-reat  tribulation.  Now,  it 
sev^ms  to  us  incredible  and  impossible  that  she  should 
become  the  vile  and  guilty  Harlot  of  the  later  vision 
in  so  short  a  time.  The  Woman  of  xvii  is  not  the 
Woman  of  chap,  xii  become  apostate. 

3.  The  Harlot  is  Christendom  estranged  from  God 


122  THE  REVELATION. 

and  become  thoroughly  secularized  and  degenerate. 
This  is  our  most  solemn  conviction.  Romanism,  we 
believe,  is  the  chief  subject  of  this  frightful  prophecy. 
But  the  Greek  Catholic  organziation,  mainly  as  ex- 
isting in  Russia  and  Eastern  Europe,  as  also  worldly 
and  unfaithful  Protestantism  are  involved  and  in- 
cluded therein.  We  begin  with  the  identification  of 
Romanism  with  this  symbol.  It  is  official  and  hier- 
archical Romanism  we  are  dealing  with,  not  the  body 
of  adherents  to  that  system  who  are  generally  both 
ignorant  and  superstitious.  The  historical  reality  and 
the  prophetic  portrait  here  drawn  are  too  much  alike, 
match  too  exactly,  to  mistake  the  meaning. 

Papal  Rome  claims  to  be  a  Mother,  calls  herself 
the  "  mother  of  all  churches,"  the  mistress  and  teacher 
of  all  Christians.  The  pope  asserts  his  supremacy 
over  all  of  them,  and  indeed  over  all  nations  as  well. 
In  1825  Leo  XII  struck  a  medal  bearing  on  the  one 
side  his  own  image,  and  on  the  other  that  of  the 
church  of  Rome  symbolized  as  a  Woman,  holding  in 
her  left  hand  a  cross,  and  in  her  right  a  Cup,  with  the 
legend,  "  Sedet  super  universum,"  "  The  whole  world 
is  her  seat"  (Hyslop,  Two  Babylons).  She  would 
dominate  all  mankind,  xvii:  15. 

The  Woman  has  her  seat  in  a  city  of  seven  hills, 
xvii:  9,  18.  For  more  than  a  thousand  years  the 
Papacy  and  Rome  the  City  have  been  regarded  prac- 
tically as  one  and  the  same.  Rome  is  the  Papacy  to 
this  day.  No  other  is  called  "the  city  of  seven  hills;" 
no  other  has  ever  ruled  over  the  earth  as  Rome  has. 
Pagan  Rome  governed  the  world  for  centuries;  papal 


INTERPOSED  EXPLANATORY  VISIONS 


123 


Rome  has  for  ages  held  sway  in  our  planet  as  no  other 
city  has.  It  is  Rome  where  the  Woman  "  sitteth.'* 
The  city  and  the  system  coalesce,  they  are  converti- 
ble terms. 

The  name  inscribed  on  the  Harlot's  forehead  points 
unmistakably  to  an  apostate  religious  system,  and  pre- 
eminently to  Romanism.  Everything  in  the  worship 
of  that  enormous  organization  is  shrouded  in  mys- 
tery, is  designed  to  impress  men  with  its  hidden,  se- 
cret and  supernatural  authority  and  power.  Its  per- 
sistent use  of  a  dead  language,  its  celebration  of  the 
Mass,  its  confessional  and  priestly  absolution,  its 
claims  to  fix  the  destinies  of  men  even  in  the  unseen 
world,  its  mystic  ceremonies  and  rites,  the  dress  of  its 
officiating  priests  and  their  postures  and  actions  when 
observing  "  the  mysteries  "  of  the  cult-all  combine  to 
invest  the  system  with  an  impressiveness  and  mysti- 
cism nowhere  else  found  save  in  some  of  the  ancient 
pagan  rites.  The  Greek  Church  is  characterized  by 
the  like  heathen  features,  though  somewhat  less  fla- 
grant. 

The  Harlot's  connection  with  the  World-power — 
riding  upon  it — is  realized  in  the  universal  domination 
which  the  Papacy  claims  and  asserts.  The  Pope  ar- 
rogates for  the  Roman  See  supremacy  over  peoples 
and  states  and  rulers.  Not  always  has  he  been  able 
to  enforce  the  proud  claim,  but  when  he  can  he  does 
to  the  fullest  extent.  "  The  pope  can  depose  from 
their  offices  magistrates  and  princes,  and  release  sub- 
jects from  their  oath  of  allegiance."  "  The  pope  is 
king  of  kings,  ruler  of  rulers,  the  prince  of  bishops, 


124  THE  REVELATION. 

the  judge  of  all  men"  (Bellarmino).  "The  imperial 
majesty  is  subjected  to  the  pope  as  the  Vicar  of  Christ 
Jesus,  and  kings  ought  to  lay  down  their  crowns  be- 
fore him.  The  Pontiff  is  monarch,  emperor,  king  and 
bishop  of  the  whole  earth  "  (Decisioni  delta  Rota  Ro- 
mana).  These  quotations  are  taken  from  Roman 
Catholic  authorities;  they  could  be  multiplied  indefi- 
nitely. To  this  day  the  Roman  See  exalts  its  absolute 
supremacy  over  all  nations,  sovereigns  and  peoples. 
It  is  not  union  with  the  State  that  is  asserted,  but  do- 
minion over  the  State.  Subjection  to  the  civil  author- 
ity is  the  position  of  those  ecclesiastical  bodies  named 
"  State  Churches,"  whether  Protestant  or  Greek  Cath- 
olic. Rome  exalts  her  authority  over  all  States  and 
Churches  alike.  She  rides,  or  seeks  to  ride  upon  the 
World-power,  to  subject  to  herself  all  authority  and 
all  rule. 

The  Scarlet  Woman  is  intolerant,  persecuting:  she 
is  seen  to  be  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints. 
Here,  again,  the  parallelism  between  the  symbol  and 
the  apostate  religious  system  is  startlingly  close. 
Count  if  you  can  the  victims  of  Rome's  bloody  work 
in  the  world,  her  murderous  cruelties.  It  is  even 
doubted  whether  pagan  Rome  ever  slew  as  many  hu- 
man beings  as  has  Papal  Rome.  Nor  is  Rome  the  only 
guilty  one  in  this  respect.  The  Greek  Catholic  and 
some  Protestant  bodies  likewise  have  stained  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  some  of  the  noblest  and  purest 
of  God's  children.  Not  without  a  dreadful  meaning 
is  this  Harlot  arrayed  in  scarlet  and  crimson:  bloody- 
minded  she  is,  and  blood-stained  also. 


INTERPOSED   EXPLANATORY  VISIONS.        125 

The  Harlot  is  the  "  mother  of  abominations,"  i.  e., 
idolatrous.  Images,  shrines,  relics,  human  beings 
("the  saints")  and  angels  are  objects  of  devotion  in 
all  apostate  Christendom.  The  Virgin  Mary  with 
vast  multitudes  holds  a  higher  place  of  veneration 
than  did  ever  Minerva  in  Greece,  or  Ceres  in  Rome, 
or  Diana  in  Ephesus.  Her  worship  exceeds  that  even 
of  the  Son  of  God  Himself.  Nothing  will  sooner 
arouse  the  fanatical  rage  of  her  devotees  than  the 
teaching  that  Mary,  blessed  as  she  was  in  being  chosen 
to  give  birth  to  the  Son  of  Man,  has  no  part  in  our 
salvation,  can  do  nothing  to  deliver  us  from  sin  and 
reconcile  us  with  God.  Ever  since  Pius  IX  officially 
proclaimed  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Virgin, 
Mary  has  been  lifted  into  a  place  of  eminence  and 
authority  never  before  held  by  her.  Add  to  this  the 
Dogma  of  infallibility  with  which  the  Pope  was 
crowned  in  1870  by  the  Vatican  Council,  and  one  will 
perceive  to  what  heights  of  arrogance  and  blasphemy 
this  Roman  system  is  now  exalted. 

But  departure  from  divine  truth,  false  teaching, 
unwarranted  claims,  arrogant  assumptions,  will  wor- 
ship and  idolatry  are  not  to  be  charged  against  papal 
Rome  exclusively.  Babylon  is  "  the  mother  of  har- 
lots." She  has  daughters  like  herself.  The  Greek 
Catholic  church,  the  Coptic,  and  others  have  as  widely 
departed  from  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel  as  has 
Rome.  Who  would  venture  to  deny  that  there  are 
signs  of  a  falling  away  in  Protestantism?  A  scarcely 
disguised  infidelity  in  the  great  Schools  of  Germany; 
advanced  ritualism  and  Higher  Criticism  of  a  .most 


126  THE  REVELATION. 

pronounced  type  advocated  in  the  Colleges  and  Uni- 
versities of  Great  Britain;  scientific  skepticism  and 
rationalism  taught  in  the  Universities  of  our  own 
country ;  "  an  open  and  organized  movement  toward 
Rome,  numbering  thousands  of  clerical  and  lay  ad- 
herents;" in  the  Church  of  England;  doctrines  held 
and  taught  in  Evangelical  Churches  that  "  thirty  years 
ago  would  have  ranked  a  man  as  an  infidel ;"  denial 
of  the  supernatural,  ridicule  of  miracles,  denial  of  the 
inspiration,  integrity,  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures; 
hostility  toward  the  divine  claims  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  Gospel;  denial  of  the  Deity  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  persistent  effort  on  the  part  of  many  to 
sink  Him  to  a  level  with  men,  born  into  the  world  as 
other  men  are  and  having  a  human  father  and  mother 
as  other  men ;  denial  of  His  resurrection  from  the  dead 
and  His  Mediatorial  action  in  heaven  as  a  glorified 
Man,  and  His  Coming  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead;  Paul  charged  with  being  the  author  of  Chris- 
tianity and  not  Christ — a  Christianity  which  Christ  did 
not  teach;  a  salvation  now  preached  that  is  to  be  the 
result  and  fruit  of  "  works,"  culture,  education, 
"  character-building,"  a  reconstruction  of  society  in 
the  Socialistic  conception,  the  importance  of  the  indi- 
vidual being  eliminated — all  this  and  much  more  than 
this  betokens  the  working  of  "  the  mystery  of  lawless- 
ness" in  the  heart  of  Christendom,  the  presence  and  the 
corrupting  influence  of  the  Harlot's  "  daughters  "  in 
the  "  religious  world."  The  Laodicean  age,  with  its 
latitudinarianism,  its  proud  boastings,  and  yet  its  spir- 


INTERPOSED   EXPLANATORY  VISIONS.        127 

itual  bankruptcy  ignored,  has  set  in,  though  not  yet 
full-grown.     Worse  things  are  fast  approaching. 

No  influence  for  evil  is  so  great,  none  so  far-reaching 
in  its  disastrous  effects,  as  an  apostate  religious  sys- 
tem. There  is  no  sphere  it  does  not  invade,  none 
that  it  does  not  befoul.  The  State,  the  family,  edu- 
cation, literature,  the  press — everything,  in  short,  of 
life  and  of  civilization  it  touches  and  defiles.  Chapter 
xviii  of  Rev.  discloses  the  vast  results  on  mankind  of 
Babylon's  overthrow.  Kings,  merchants,  seamen, 
wail  over  Babylon's  fall,  and  recognize  with  profound- 
est  grief  that  all  commerce,  all  the  immense  business 
of  the  world,  had  hitherto  been  bound  up  with  the 
Babylonian  system,  and  now  by  the  just  judgment 
of  God  it  has  all  crumbled  into  desolation  and  ruin. 
We  believe  that  the  predictions  recorded  in  chap  xviii 
involve  a  far  wider  field  of  influence  than  a  single  city; 
they  point  to  the  world  of  commerce,  of  trade — in 
short,  to  the  complex,  interdependent  secular  relations 
of  modern  civilization.  Christendom  does  control  the 
wealth  and  the  commerce  of  the  civilized  nations,  nay, 
of  the  heathen  nations  also.  Babylon,  the  Harlot, 
means  more  than  a  single  city,  though  it  may  have  its 
chief  place  of  power  there.  It  is  Rome,  but  likewise 
all  that  Rome  stands  for,  all  its  worldwide  influences. 
As  a  city  Rome  never  was  a  great  commercial  center, 
nor  is  it  ever  likely  to  be  anything  like  what  Tyre  or 
Alexandria  were,  what  London  and  New  York  now 
are.  But  apostate  Christendom  will  one  day,  if  not 
now,  embrace  the  world  and  poison  all  its  centers  and 
all  its  life.  With  Babylon's  fall  the  complicated,  rich, 
spectacular  and  cultivated  civilization  of  earth  will  be 


128  THE  REVELATION. 

utterly  demolished,  for  in  its  essence  and  its  spirit  it 
will  be  the  foe  of  God,  the  corrupter  of  the  truth  of 
God,  and  the  righthand  of  the  Antichrist.  No  won- 
der all  heaven  rejoices  when  the  enormous  thing, 
built  up  with  so  tremendous  efforts,  with  such  expen- 
diture of  intellectual  energy,  and  by  such  unjust  and 
evil  methods,  dies  at  length  beneath  the  stroke  of 
outraged  justice! 

The  destruction  of  the  Harlot  Babylon  will  be  by  the 
Beast  and  his  ten-horn  confederates,  xvii:  i6. 
When  the  Beast  has  served  himself  of  Babylon,  wea- 
ried at  length  by  its  arrogance  and  its  claims,  he  will 
turn  with  fury  upon  it,  tear  it  to  pieces,  eat  its  flesh, 
devour  all  its  wealth  and  its  power,  and  burn  it  with 
fire.  Two  gigantic  forms  of  full-grown  Wickedness 
is  to  distinguish  the  time  of  the  End.  The  one  is, 
the  revolt  and  hostility  of  federated  Government,  the 
other  an  apostate  religious  system.  The  first  is  not 
yet  manifested;  the  second,  in  its  incipient  stage,  i» 
here. 

We  may  summarize  the  intercalated  Visions  of 
chaps,  xvii,  xviii,  xix:  i-io  thus: 

1.  Five  world-kingdoms  had  flourished  and  fallen 
when  John  wrote. 

2.  The  sixth  Kingdom,  the  Roman  Empire,  was 
then  existing,  but  was  to  fall. 

3.  A  seventh  Kingdom  shall  arise  and  rule  the 
earth.  Its  form  is  to  be  that  of  a  Confederation  of 
ten  kingdoms,  each  ruled  by  its  own  sovereign,  with 
unity  centering  in  its  great  Head,  the  Antichrist. 


INTERPOSED   EXPLANATORY  VISIONS. 


129 


4.  The  Harlot  Babylon  the  symbol  of  an  apostate 
religious  system. 

5.  Both  the  Beast  and  Babylon,  as  predicted  in  the 
Apocalypse,  belong  to  the  time  of  the  end,  and  are 
prefigured  as  at  their  worsts  most  godless  and  most 
blasphemous. 

6.  Babylon  is  destroyed  by  the  Beast  and  his  ten 
kings. 

7.  The  Beast  and  his  False  Prophet  are  destroyed 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

9 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Advent  of  the  Heavenly  Conqueror,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  xix :  1 1 ;  xx :  6. 

I.  This  great  section  is  the  climax  and  the  culmina- 
tion of  all  the  visions  and  predictions  of  the  book.  The 
Consummation  so  often  noted  in  former  chapters; 
the  reiterated  announcements  of  Christ's  Coming  in 
the  seventh  Seal,  in  the  seventh  Trumpet,  in  the  sev- 
enth Vial,  and  elsewhere^  now  at  last  are  become  a 
reality  in  His  personal  return  to  our  earth.  The  key- 
note has  been,  "  Behold,  He  cometh."  But  now  the 
diapason  closes  full  on  His  Presence,  "  He  is  come." 
"  I  saw  heaven  opened."  In  chap,  iv :  I  "a  door  is 
opened  in  heaven."  Twice  we  are  told  the  Temple 
in  heaven  was  "opened"  (xi:  19;  xv:  5).  But  xix: 
II  is  on  a  wider  scale;  the  heavens  themselves  open 
to  the  descending  Son  of  God.  He  now  comes,  not 
as  the  Lamb,  nor  as  the  Bridegroom,  but  as  the  Lion 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  almighty  Conqueror.  He 
is  followed  by  a  dazzling  retinue,  the  armies  of  hea- 
ven. His  mighty  angels.  The  scene  is  one  of  trans- 
cendant  majesty.  He  is  identified  by  His  royal  titles. 
He  is  "faithful  and  true"  (i:  5;  iii:  7,  14):  "The 
Word  of  God  "  (Jno.  i.  i)  :  "  King  of  kings  "  (xvii: 
14).  His  personal  appearance  indicates  who  He  is: 
"  His  eyes  are  a  flame  of  fire  "  (i:  14;  ii:  18)  ;  He  is 
crowned  with  "  many  diadems,"  He  is  a  King  and 

130 


ADVENT  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  131 

more  than  a  king,  He  is  above  all  kings  and  sovereigns ; 
He  is  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth :  "  His  garment 
is  sprinkled  with  blood"  (Isa.  Ixiii:  2,  3)  :  from  His 
mouth  issues  a  sharp  sword  (i:  16;  ii:  12,  16;  cf.  2 
Thess.  ii:  8;  Isa.  xi:  4).  He  is  mounted  on  "  a  white 
horse,"  emblem  of  victory.  This  metaphor  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  white-horse  rider  of  vi:  2. 
That  is  a  human  warrior,  this  is  the  heavenly  King; 
that  is  an  ambitious  and  despotic  military  chieftain; 
this  Rider  judges  and  makes  war  "  in  righteousness." 
The  heavenly  armies  that  follow  Him  are  the  angelic 
hosts,  Mar.  viii:  38;  i  Thess.  iii:  14;  2  Thess.  i:  7-10; 
Jude  14;  Zech.  xiv:  5;  Dan.  vii:  10.  The  most  mo- 
mentous events  ensue  upon  His  Advent.  The  Beast, 
the  False  Prophet,  the  kings  of  earth  and  their  armies 
are  gathered  to  fight  against  the  heavenly  King,  xix: 
19.  Their  place  of  assembly  is  Har-Magedon,  a 
noted  battlefield  (xvi:  16).  Not  a  blow  is  struck  by 
the  heavenly  hosts ;  the  appearing  of  Christ,  the  great 
God  and  our  Saviour,  suffices  to  overwhelm  all  His 
foes,  2  Thess.  ii:  8.  The  doom  of  the  Beast  and  his 
guilty  accomplice,  the  False  Prophet,  is  most  appall- 
ing. They  were  arrested,  and  "  they  twain  were  cast 
alive  into  the  lake  of  fire  that  burneth  with  brim- 
stone," ver.  20.  Two  men  were  taken  to  glory  with- 
out passing  through  the  gates  of  death,  Enoch  and 
Elijah.  Two  men  will  be  flung  alive  into  the  Lake 
of  Fire,  Antichrist  and  his  prime  minister.  The  False 
Prophet.  The  carnage  of  the  Beast's  army  is  fright- 
fully great,  vers.  17,  18,  21;  cf.  xiv:  20.  The  birds 
of  the  sky  are  bidden  to  this  "  great  supper  of  God," 


1132  THE  REVELATION.; 

and  they  "  were  filled  with  their  flesh,"  cf.  Ezek. 
xxxix:  17-20.  Ezekiel  predicts  that  it  will  require 
seven  months  to  bury  the  slain,  ver.  12,  of  that  day  of 
God's  wrath. 

This  is  the  awful  Vintage  of  xiv:  19,  20;  cf.  xix: 
15 — where  a  horseman  riding  over  the  battle-field 
finds  the  blood  of  the  slain  bridle-deep  for  1,600  fur- 
longs! The  time  is,  The  Day  of  the  Lord:  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his 
mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on 
them  that  know  not  God  (2  Thess.  i:  7-10).  It  is  the 
time  when  the  proud  World-power  in  its  last  and  dia- 
bolical confederation  is  judged  and  destroyed,  when 
the  kingdom  of  the  world  becomes  the  Kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ :  when  "  the  kingdom,  and 
dominion,  and  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the 
whole  heaven  is  given  to  the  Son  of  Man  and  to  the 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  (Dan.  vii:  14, 
2y).  It  is  the  End  of  our  Age,  the  time  fully  come 
for  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession. 

2.  Satan  Bound,  xx:  1-3.  The  language  of  these 
verses,  of  course,  is  symbolical ;  but  back  of  the  sym- 
bols is  a  glorious  reality.  We  have  here,  first,  the  clear 
recognition  of  the  Devil's  personality.  He  is  no 
myth,  nor  a  personification  of  the  world's  evil,  nor  of 
the  principle  of  sin;  he  is  a  strong,  fierce  spirit,  the 
enemy  alike  of  God  and  of  our  race  and  its  mur- 
derer (Jno.  viii:  44).  The  names  John  here  gives  him 
denote  that  he  is  a  person  with  thought,  will,  charac- 
ter and  disposition.  More  than  twenty  distinct  titles 
and  names  are  given  him   in  the   New   Testament, 


ADVENT  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  133 

every  one  of  which  expresses  the  Idea  of  individuality 
and  conscious  being.  He  is  as  certainly  an  active,  liv- 
ing spirit  as  is  the  angel  Gabriel  or  the  arch-angel 
Michael. 

Secondly,  for  ages  he  has  been  unrestrained,  "walk- 
ing up  and  down  in  the  earth,"  deceiving,  tempting, 
leading  captive  and  ruining  as  he  listed,  save  as  he  was 
limited  by  the  will  of  God.  But,  thirdly,  he  is  now 
arrested  and  chained  securely  for  a  thousand  years. 
The  energy  of  the  Seer's  language  is  remarkable. 
Satan  is  "  seized,"  next  "  chained ;"  then  "  cast  into 
the  abyss,"  after  that  "  shut  up,"  and  finally  "  sealed." 
It  is  imprisonment  with  close  confinement!  It  lasts 
for  a  thousand  years.  In  chap,  ix:  i,  2,  the  "pit  of 
the  abyss  "  Is  opened,  and  out  of  Its  yawning  mouth 
issue  the  swarms  of  locusts.  In  xi:  7,  xvii:  8  the 
Beast  ascends  from  the  abyss.  Thrice  Is  this  unde- 
scribed  Pit  opened.  But  when  the  Dragon,  the  Old 
Serpent  which  Is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  Is  hurled  into 
it,  securely  bound  with  the  angel's  great  chain,  and 
over  him  in  that  dismal  prison  the  huge  cover  shuts 
down,  fast  locked  and  sealed,  opened  no  more  will  it 
be  till  the  thousand  years  are  finished.  This  will  be 
earth's  Jubilee,  the  longed-for  Millennium.  Not 
until  Satan  is  seized,  chained  and  locked  up  will  there 
be,  can  there  be,  the  blessed  Millennium.  Satan  loose 
and  a  Millennium  of  peace  and  happiness  are  incom- 
patible. 

3.  The  First  Resurrection,  xx:  4-6. 

"And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and 
judgment  was  given  unto  them:  and  (I  saw)  the  souls 


iI34  THE  REVELATION. 

of  them  that  had  been  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  such  as  wor- 
shipped not  the  beast,  neither  his  image,  and  received 
not  the  mark  upon  their  forehead  and  upon  their 
hand:  and  they  Hved  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thou- 
sand years." 

This  is  a  much  controverted  portion  of  the  Revela- 
tion; it  is  a  sort  of  exegetical  battle-field  between 
those  who  are  called  respectively  Pre-millennialists  and 
Post-millennialists.  Into  the  controversy  there  is  no 
intention  to  enter,  but  what  appears  to  us  to  be  Its 
meaning  must  be  set  down.  We  have  the  profound 
conviction  that  a  bodily  resurrection  is  certainly  af- 
firmed by  it.  Three  parties,  we  believe,  are  here  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other  by  the  inspired  prophet: 
I,  The  throned  assessors  to  whom  judgment  is  given, 
who  represent  all  the  redeemed;  2,  martyrs  who  had 
laid  down  their  lives  for  their  testimony  to  Jesus  and 
to  the  word  of  God ;  3,  such  as  had  refused  to  worship 
the  Beast,  or  his  image,  or  to  receive  his  mark.  The 
distinction  between  these  classes  is  not  one  of  time, 
for  they  are  all  alike  sharers  in  the  blessedness  of  the 
First  Resurrection ;  nor  of  character,  for  alike  they  are 
saints  of  God,  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Rather,  the  distinction  is  one  of  expe- 
rience, of  what  had  been  endured  and  suffered  by  them 
respectively. 

John  first  mentions  those  who  sit  on  thrones,  to 
whom  judgment  is  given :  "  I  saw  thrones,  and  they 
sat  upon  them."  The  plural  they  is  indefinite,  it  may 
denote   any  number.     But  other   Scripture,   it   is  be- 


ADVENT  OF  JEKDS  UHRIST.  135 

lieved,  sheds  light  on  the  question  who  these  are. 
Christ  Himself  is  certainly  one  here  on  His  judgment- 
throne.  With  Him  certainly  are  the  Apostles.  "And 
Jesus  said  unto  them"  (to  Peter  and  the  rest), 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  who  have  followed 
me,  in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit 
on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve 
thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel"  (Matt. 
xix:  28).  The  "regeneration,"  or  renewal,  here 
spoken  of  begins  with  the  Advent  of  Christ  and  with 
the  resurrection  and  glorification  of  the  saints,  as 
Paul  teaches — "  Creation  itself  shall  be  delivered  from 
the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  liberty  of  the  glory 
of  the  children  of  God."  It  awaits  the  redemption  of 
our  body,  Rom.  viii:  19-23.  In  that  glorious  age  the 
Apostles  will  be  Christ's  assessors  in  judging  men. 
But  not  these  alone;  all  Christians  are  to  be  there 
present  and  to  share  in  judging.  "  Know  ye  not  that 
the  saints  shall  judge  the  world  ?"  "  Know  ye  not 
that  we  shall  judge  angels?"  i  Cor.  vi:  2,  3.  Here 
the  inspired  assertion  is,  that  the  saints  of  God  shall 
judge  both  the  world  and  angels.  Of  course,  their 
judgment  will  be  in  strict  unison  with  that  of  Christ 
Himself;  but  however  subordinate  to  His  it  may  be, 
these  saved  men  and  women  shall  participate  with  the 
Apostles  in  judgment.  Their  judicial  action  is  re- 
markable as  to  extent;  it  includes  the  wicked  of  the 
world  and  angels.  Dan.  vii:  21,  2.2  relates  to  the 
same  procedure — "  Until  the  ancient  of  days  came, 
and  judgment  was  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High:  and  the  time  came  that  the  saints  possessed  the 


136  THE  REVELATION. 

kingdom."  The  figure  here  as  in  the  other  cases  cited 
is  of  an  assize.  Judgment  is  had,  the  saints  are  vindi- 
cated, and  they  come  into  possession  of  the  kingdom 
promised.     Here  are  included  all  O.  T.  believers. 

In  all  these  instances  the  time  of  the  judicial  proced- 
ure is  the  same ;  it  is  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  in  great 
glory  and  power.  In  union  with  Christ  the  saints 
as  a  body,  the  whole  company  of  the  redeemed,  as  we 
think,  share  with  Him  in  judging  the  world  and  an- 
gels. The  sentence,  "  I  saw  thrones  and  they  sat 
upon  them,  and  judgment  was  given  unto  them,"  is 
interpreted  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  by  Paul,  and  by  Daniel, 
to  mean  the  entire  body  of  the  saints,  now  raised  up 
and  glorified  with  Christ. 

A  distinct  class  of  saints  among  the  enthroned  is 
brought  to  view;  "and  (I  saw)  the  souls  of  them 
that  had  been  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus, 
and  for  the  word  of  God."  Martyrs  of  Christ  are 
these,  believers  who  lay  down  their  lives  for  His 
name  and  His  word.  "  Souls "  may  include  those 
"souls"  seen  under  the  altar  (vi:  9),  and  who  cried 
to  God  for  vindication,  and  who  were  bidden  rest 
and  wait  till  their  brethren  and  fellow-servants  should 
be  killed  as  they  had  been.  It  was  in  the  disembodied 
state  they  were  seen,  as  martyrs  with  the  evidence 
of  their  execution  on  them — slain  with  the  axe,  the 
mode  of  capital  punishment  practiced  by  Rome  before 
the  establishment  of  the  Empire.  The  use  of  the 
term  beheaded  seems  to  denote  that  all  marytrs, 
whether  under  the  Republic  or  the  Empire,  whether 
recent  or  remote,  are  to  be  included  in  these  "  wit- 


ADVENT  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  137 

nesses  of  Jesus."  Now  they  are  seen  as  raised  up  and 
enthroned. 

Still  another  company  of  sufferers  are  introduced: 
"And  such  as  worshipped  not  the  beast,  neither  his 
image,  and  received  not  the  mark  upon  their  fore- 
head and  upon  their  hand."  The  triumph  of  Christ 
is  shared  not  by  the  martyrs  only 'but  by  all  who  under 
the  sway  of  the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet  suffered 
reproach,  imprisonment,  loss  of  goods,  maltreatment, 
exile.  The  words  "such  as"  (oitines)  point  to  a 
class  distinct  from  the  martyrs  mentioned  just  before. 
Cyprian  (fourth  Cen.)  noted  the  distinction;  so  do 
Swete,  Edwards  and  others.  John  names  particu- 
larly these  two  classes,  because  of  their  loyalty  to 
Christ  in  suffering  and  death.  Not  all  of  them  are 
slain,  but  all  have  the  martyr  spirit.  Some  of  the  last 
class  may  survive  till  the  Advent,  in  which  case  they 
will  be  of  those  who  shall  not  sleep  (i  Cor.  xv:  51). 

Of  all  these  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  en- 
throned, the  martyrs,  and  the  confessors,  John  says 
"  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years." 
By  the  words  "  lived  and  reigned "  we  understand 
and  must  understand  their  resurrection  from  the  dead 
and  their  "  change "  if  alive  at  the  Lord's  coming. 
So  John  himself  understood  it,  for  he  adds,  "  This  is 
the  first  resurrection."  Some  42  times  this  term  res- 
urrection occurs  in  the  New  Testament,  and  once  with 
a  prepositional  affix  (Phil,  iii:  11),  and  in  each  in- 
stance its  application  is  confined  to  the  raising  up  of 
the  dead.  Hence  John  says,  "  The  rest  of  the  dead 
lived  not  until  the  thousand  years  should  be  finished." 


138  THE  REVELATION. 

Many  expositors,  however,  deny  that  the  passage 
teaches  a  bodily  resurrection.  They  see  in  it  no  more 
than  a  revival  of  the  martyr  spirit  and  of  the  princi- 
ples of  righteousness  and  truth  for  which  the  martyrs 
suffered.  With  them  here  is  announced  a  spiritual 
resurrection,  and  not  a  physical  one.  Let  such  terms 
be  substituted  for  those  of  John,  and  the  absurdity  of 
the  view  will  be  quite  apparent :  "  I  saw  the  *  prin- 
ciples '  of  those  who  had  been  beheaded  for  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus ;  and  the  '  principles '  of  those  who 
repudiated  the  Beast ;  and  the  *  principles '  lived  and 
reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years.  This  is  the 
first  resurrection  of  the  *  martyr  spirit.'  On  these 
'principles'  the  second  death  hath  no  power.  But 
the  rest  of  the  '  principles  '  lived  not  until  the  thou- 
sand years  were  finished."  Believe  it  who  can  that 
John  wrote  such  nonsense  as  this,  we  cannot.  Never 
once  in  the  N.  T.  is  the  term  resurrection  used  in  this 
sense. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  Rev.  xx:  4-6  is  the  only 
passage  of  Scripture  which  teaches  a  distinct  and  sep- 
arate resurrection  for  the  righteous.  If  true,  this 
should  not  disturb  anyone.  One  unmistakable  state- 
ment from  God  should  convince  and  satisfy  even  the 
most  skeptical.  Matthew  alone  tells  us  that  many  of 
the  dead  saints  arose  at  Jesus*  death  and  resurrec- 
tion and  appeared  to  many  in  the  city  (Matt,  xxvii: 
52,  53),  but  does  any  Christian  doubt  it?  But  the 
assertion  is  not  true.  Other  Scripture  teaches  that 
the  righteous  are  raised  up  before  the  wicked — theirs 
is  an  out-resurrection  from  the  dead.     Isa.  xxv:  7-9 


ADVENT  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  139 

and  Hosea  xiii:  14  point  to  such  a  resurrection. 
Dan.  xii:  2  clearly  affirms  it:  "And  many  of  them  that 
sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to 
everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt."  "  Many  of  "  does  not  mean  all;  the  res- 
urrection here  is  not  total,  it  is  selective,  many  from 
among  the  whole  number  of  the  dead  awake,  the 
prophet  affirms.  We  think  Bush  and  Tregelles  are 
right  in  translating  thus :  *'  these  to  everlasting  life ;" 
"  those  to  shame,"  etc.,  and  Tragelles  goes  on  to  say, 
"  those "  of  the  second  part  do  not  awake  when 
"  these  "  of  the  first  part  awake. 

In  Jno.  v:  29  Jesus  speaks  of  a  "resurrection  of 
life,"  and  a  "  resurrection  of  judgment."  But  in  ver. 
24  He  emphatically  declares  that  believers  "  shall  not 
come  into  judgment."  These  two  resurrections  ap- 
pear to  be  distinct  both  as  to  character  and  time.  In 
Lu.  XX :  35  the  Lord  speaks  of  a  resurrection  which 
shall  be  "  from  (ek)  the  dead,"  as  if  it  were  separate 
from  that  of  the  wicked,  the  righteous  being  taken 
out  from  among  them.  Paul  in  Phil,  iii:  11  writes  of 
his  intense  longing  to  "  attain  unto  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead."  His  language  is  very  precise  and 
emphatic.  Literally  this  he  says:  "If  by  any  means 
I  may  attain  unto  the  out-resurrection  from  the  dead." 
Paul  confidently  expected  a  resurrection  for  the  saved 
as  totally  distinct  in  time  from  that  of  the  unsaved ;  it 
is  to  be  one  "  out  from  among  "  them.  All  this  Scrip- 
ture confirms  the  glorious  revelation  in  chap,  xx:  4,  5 
of  "  the  first  resurrection,"  which  is  confined  to  the 
saints  of  God,  and  in  which  the  wicked  do  not  share. 


!I40  THE  REVELATION. 

The  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  takes  place  when 
Christ  comes,  i  Cor.  xv:  20,  23;  i  Thess.  iv:  14-17. 
At  His  "  Shout "  they  are  awakened,  and  by  His 
Voice  they  are  called  forth  from  their  graves.  But 
here  in  the  Apocalypse  the  order  of  events  seems  to  be 
this:  (i)  destruction  of  Antichrist;  (2)  imprison- 
ment of  Satan;  (3)  resurrection  of  all  the  righteous 
dead  and  change  of  believers  still  living  at  that  time 
and  their  enthronement.  But  other  Scripture,  even 
the  Revelation  itself ^  gives  a  somewhat  different  order. 
We  learn  from  i  Thess.  iv:  13-17  that  the  first  act  of 
the  Lord  at  His  coming  will  be  to  raise  the  sleeping 
saints,  change  living  believers,  and  then  together  both 
shall  be  caught  up  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord 
in  the  air.  They  come  with  the  Lord  to  the  earth 
as  the  term  "to  meet"  imports  (Lillie).  Augustine 
perceived  this,  "  it  is  as  He  is  coming,  not  abiding, 
that  we  shall  go  to  meet  Him."  As  an  ancient  writer 
expresses  it,  "  We  shall  be  caught  away  to  meet  Christ, 
that  all  may  come  with  the  Lord  to  battle  "  (Am- 
brosiaster).  The  rapture  of  the  saints  to  meet  the 
advancing  Saviour  obviously  is  put  by  Paul  before 
the  destruction  of  Antichrist  and  the  binding  of  Satan. 
In  Rev.  xi:  17,  18,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and 
the  distribution  of  rewards  to  them  is  placed  before 
the  destroyers  of  the  earth  are  themselves  destroyed. 
So,  too,  in  the  program  chapter  (xiv)  the  harvest  of 
the  saints  and  their  garnering  precedes  the  awful  judg- 
ment of  the  Vintage,  xiv:  14-21.  Is  there,  therefore, 
discrepancy  between  the  various  accounts  of  the  events 
at  the  time  of  the  end?      There  seems  to  be  at  first 


ADVENT  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  141 

sight,  but  it  is  only  apparently  so.  In  Rev.  xix :  20-xx : 
6  the  Seer  does  not  follow  a  strict  chronological  order. 
He  groups  the  events  together  as  if  they  were  sim- 
ultaneous (as  indeed  they  are)  without  noting  their 
succession. 

Besides,  prominence  is  here  given  to  the  doom  of 
the  great  foes,  the  Beast,  the  False  Prophet,  and  the 
Dragon.  These  have  been  filling  the  field  of  vision 
from  the  twelfth  chapter  down  to  this  point.  These 
horrible  adversaries  have  been  slaughtering  the  saints, 
blaspheming  God,  filling  earth  with  blood  and  tears, 
with  ruin  and  crimes,  indescribable.  It  is  fitting,  it 
almost  seems  necessary  and  right,  that  their  judgment 
and  perdition  should  be  described  at  once.  The  order 
is  one  of  rank,  not  of  time.  We  see  the  like  order  in 
Matt,  xiii:  41-43,  where  the  tares  are  first  burned, 
and  then  the  righteous  shine  forth  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Father.  Yet,  in  point  of  fact,  the  righteous 
are  gathered  before  the  tares  are  burned,  cf.  Rev. 
xiv:  14-21.  So,  too,  in  chap,  xix:  7,  8,  the  Marriage 
of  the  Lamb  appears  to  precede  the  judgment  of  the 
Beast  and  the  destruction  of  his  hostile  army.  We 
believe  that  the  Scriptures  present  the  order  of  events 
at  the  Coming  of  Christ  as  follows:  i.  The  appearing 
of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven;  2,  the 
resurrection  of  the  sleeping  saints  and  the  change  of 
living  believers;  3,  the  ascension  of  all  the  saved  to 
meet  Him  in  the  air;  4,  the  descent  of  the  Lord  with 
His  glorious  retinue  to  earth;  5,  Antichrist  and  his 
False  Prophet  hurled  into  the  Lake  of  Fire ;  6,  the  de- 
struction of  the  hostile  armies  of  the  Beast;  7,  impris- 


142 


THE  REVELATION. 


onment  of  Satan;  8,  judgment  of  the  nations  (Matt. 
XXV :  31-46);  9,  Millennial  Kingdom  and  Glory. 

"  This  is  the  first  resurrection."  The  term  "  first " 
is  to  be  understood  numerically,  and  not  as  to  rank; 
it  marks  the  order  of  time.  Is  there  to  be  a  second? 
Unquestionably.  It  is  described  in  xx:  12,  13.  It  is 
objected  that  it  is  not  called  the  second  resurrection. 
Neither  is  there  mention  of  the  first  death,  although 
the  "  second  death  "  is  named  twice,  vers.  6,  14.  There 
is  no  need.  In  the  one  case  first  is  understood ;  in  the 
other  second  is.  Before  this  "  first  "  there  is  no  resur- 
rection named  or  referred  to  in  the  book,  if  we  read 
it  aright.  For  resurrection  is  the  immediate  result 
of  the  coming  and  presence  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  He 
comes  in  connection  with  this  "  first,"  and,  hence,  it  is 
called  first,  no  other  has  taken  place.  Many  excellent 
and  devout  students  of  the  Bible,  however,  believe  that 
a  previous  resurrection  has  occurred,  that  of  the 
Church,  the  Body  of  Christ,  and  they  think  it  is  set 
forth  in  the  persons  of  the  four  and  twenty  Elders 
before  the  Throne^  chap.  iv.  We  have  dealt  with  that 
passage  already.  Let  it  now  be  observed  that  if  that 
were  so,  then  we  can  see  neither  meaning  nor  force 
in  this  "  first."  It  is  a  blunder.  But  no  mistake  is 
found  in  the  Apocalypse.  This  is  absolutely  the  first, 
no  other  in  the  record  of  the  book  has  there  been. 
For  it  is  now,  in  these  two  chapters,  xix,  xx:  6,  that 
Christ,  "  the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  actually  ap- 
pears in  power  and  great  glory.  "  Behold,  he  cometh 
with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they 
also  which  pierced  him;  and  all  kindreds  of  the  e?irth 


ADVENT  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.  1143 

shall  wail  because  of  him.  Even  so.  Amen."  This 
majestic  sentence  is  the  central  theme  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse. Throughout  the  book  the  theme  is  repeated 
again  and  again.  But  in  xix :  iiff.,  He  visibly  appears ; 
and  immediately  the  resurrection  ensues.  No  resur- 
rection precedes  this  of  xx:  4-6. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Last  Revolt  and  Final  Judgment,  xx:  7-15. 

Two  mysterious  and  extraordinary  events  are 
recorded  in  this  section.  The  first  is,  Satan's  release 
from  prison^  and  his  last  revolt  and  eternal  doom, 
XX :  7-10.  A  thousand  years  work  no  change  in  his 
character  or  methods.  As  soon  as  he  is  set  free  from 
the  abyss  he  begins  his  old  habit  of  deceit  and  rebel- 
lion against  the  Most  High,  and  hostility  toward  His 
people.  When  he  was  ejected  from  his  lofty  place  and 
cast  to  earth  (xii:  12)  he  had  but  a  "short  time." 
Now  he  has  but  a  "  little  time,"  but  he  uses  it  to  the 
uttermost  in  furtherance  of  his  malignant  aims.  His 
success  is  marvellous.  A  countless  throng,  described 
as  gathered  from  the  "  four  corners  of  the  earth," 
Gog  and  Magog,  march  against  "  the  camp  of  the 
saints,  and  the  beloved  city."  But  the  rebellion  ends 
most  disastrously  to  the  rebels.  Before  they  strike 
a  blow  the  fire  from  heaven  devours  them.  Their 
crafty  and  hateful  deceiver  is  hurled  into  the  Lake  of 
Fire.  There  he  encounters  once  more  his  old  accom- 
plices and  dupes,  the  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet. 
They  are  still  alive  after  a  1,000  years  have  run  their 
course.  Such  is  the  eternal  doom  of  Satan;  we  never 
hear  of  him  more.  Gog  and  Magog  here  must  not 
be  confounded  with  Gog  of  Ezekiel  xxxviii,  xxxix. 

144 


LAST  REVOLT  AND  FINAL  JUDGMENT.      145 

The  two  are  quite  distinct,  for  Gog  of  Ezekiel  appears 
before  the  thousand  years,  whereas  the  Gog  of  John 
is  after  that  period.  Ezekiel's  Gog  comes  from  "  the 
north,"  whereas  this  people  has  no  definite  geograph- 
ical associations.  The  attack  by  the  Gog  of  Ezekiel 
is  connected  with  Antichrist,  but  here  that  great  enemy 
has  no  part;  he  had  been  cast  into  the  Lake  of  Fire 
long  before  this. 

The  second  event  is  the  Final  Judgment,  xx:  I1-15. 
This  transcendently  majestic  scene  occurs  after  the 
thousand  years,  and  after  the  final  rebellion  of  Gog, 
and  after  the  Devil  has  been  cast  into  the  Lake  of  Fire, 
"  which  is  the  second  death  " — how  long  after  we  are 
not  told,  and  no  mortal  knows.  Before  the  judgment- 
throne  appear  the  dead,  "  the  great  and  the  small." 
By  "  the  dead  "  we  understand  all  our  race,  with  the 
exception  of  those  who  are  the  blessed  sharers  in 
"  the  first  resurrection ;"  all  who  died  before  the 
thousand  years,  and  all  who  die  after  that  period,  and 
to  the  end  of  time,  who  are  unsaved. 

"And  books  were  opened,"  i.  e.,  the  records  of  each 
human  life  in  the  vast  assembly  were  produced.  That 
such  records  are  kept  and  will  be  opened  in  due  time 
seems  evident  from  Psa.  Ivi:  8;  Mai.  iii:  16;  Dan. 
xii:  I.  There  will  be  present  also  the  book  of  life 
(iii:  5;  xiii:  8;  xxi:  27);  for  some  who  are  saved 
may  die  during  the  thousand  years,  and  their  resur- 
rection and  their  judgment  will  at  this  time  take  place. 
The  first  resurrection  saints  will  have  had  theirs  long 
before. 

The  rule  of  judgment  will  be  "works,"  cf.  ii:  23; 
10 


146  THE  REVELATION. 

Matt,  xvi:  2^],  Even  in  the  case  of  Christians  who 
have  their  part  in  the  first  resurrection,  their  mani- 
festation before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  will  bring 
to  light  their  deeds  ''  done  in  the  body,  according  to 
what  they  have  done,  whether  good  or  bad "  (2 
Cor.  v:  10). 

The  issue  of  the  great  trial  will  be,  that  whosoever 
is  not  found  written  in  the  book  of  life  will  be  cast 
into  the  Lake  of  Fire. 

Death  and  Hades  will,  likewise,  be  cast  into  that 
fearful  Lake.  Death,  it  seems,  is  not  abolished  until 
the  Great  White  Throne  is  set  up  and  human  destiny 
is  forever  settled.  With  this  teaching  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse the  apostle  Paul  agrees,  for  he  assures  us  that 
"  the  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death " 
( I  Cor.  XV :  26) .  Death,  therefore,  is  not  abolished  even 
by  the  return  of  Christ,  nor  at  the  resurrection  of  those 
that  are  Christ's.  The  Advent  is  not  a  single  point  of 
time,  but  a  period,  beginning  with  His  appearing  and 
ending  with  the  delivering  up  of  the  kingdom  to  God 
(i  Cor.  XV :  24-28).  But  during  the  Millennial  reign 
death  will  be  the  exception,  not  the  rule  as  it  now  is. 
The  prophets  declare  that  at  that  time  human  life  will 
be  greatly  prolonged,  Isa.  Ixv :  20-22 :  '*  There  shall 
be  no  more  thence  an  infant  of  days,  nor  an  old  man 
that  hath  not  filled  his  days :  for  the  child  shall  die  an 
hundred  years  old,  and  the  sinner  being  an  hundred 
years  old  shall  be  accursed."  "  Premature  death,  and 
even  death  in  a  moderate  old  age,  shall  be  unknown ; 
he  who  dies  a  hundred  years  old  shall  be  considered 
either  as  dying  in  childhood,  or  as  cut  off  by  a  special 


LAST  REVOLT  AND  FINAL  JUDGMENT.     147^ 

malediction"  (Alexander).  "For  as  the  days  of  a 
tree  shall  be  the  days  of  my  people."  Some  trees  live 
for  centuries;  so  shall  be  the  life  of  the  righteous  in 
that  day,  saith  Jehovah. 


CHAPTER   XV. 
Vision  of  the  City  of  God,  xxi-xxii:  7, 

Only  brief  notes  on  this  great  section  of  the  book 
can  we  venture  to  offer.  The  revelation  here  is  so 
transcendently  sublime,  so  totally  beyond  all  earthly 
knowledge  and  experience,  that  adequate  interpreta- 
tion is  impossible;  we  must  wait  till  we  shall  see  its 
accomplishment  to  form  just  conceptions  of  its  sur- 
passing grandeur  and  beauty. 

I.  It  is  announced  there  shall  be  a  new  heaven  and 
a  new  earth;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  sea.  The 
fulfilment  of  this  wonderful  prediction  will  involve  a 
fundamental  change  in  the  physical  constitution  of 
the  world  that  now  is  and  also  of  the  visible  heavens. 
Life  would  be  impossible  if  the  sea  was  "  no  more." 
Other  Scripture  gives  assurance  of  the  like  trans- 
formation of  the  physical  universe  with  which  we  are 
connected.  *'  For,  behold,  I  create  new  heavens  and 
a  new  earth :  and  the  former  things  shall  not  be 
remembered,  nor  come  into  mind,"  Isa.  Ixv:  17  (cf. 
2  Pet.  iii:  5-13).  He  who  made  the  world  and  all  it 
contains  can  surely  re-create  it,  clearing  it  of  every 
vestige  of  sin  and  misery,  of  its  limitations  and  its 
imperfections,  and  fitting  it  for  the  dwelling  of  per- 
fect beings  and  of  God's  supreme  glory.  John  is  bid- 
den. Write,  for  these  things  are  true  and  faithful ;  they 
shall  not  fail  to  come  to  pass. 

148 


VISION  OF  THE  CTIY  OF  GOD.  149 

2.  Descent  of  the  new  Jerusalem  into  the  glorified 
earth,  i:  2-4.  The  wicked  and  apostate  system  that 
once  flourished  had  its  capital  city,  Babylon.  The  pure 
and  holy  world  is  to  have  its  bright  and  happy  Capital, 
the  new  Jerusalem  which  comes  out  of  heaven  from 
God.  In  it  will  be  the  Shekinah,  the  Divine  Presence, 
of  which  the  glory  in  the  Tabernacle  and  in  the  Tem- 
ple was  but  a  faint  shadow,  a  dim  reflection.  He 
will  dwell  with  the  blessed  inhabitants  of  the  fair  City 
— the  ultimate  fulfilment  of  all  that  lies  hidden  in 
the  name,  Immanuel.  It  will  be  in  reality  the  sorrow- 
less  state,  painless  bliss,  deathless  life.  Think  how 
great  a  chasm  would  be  made  in  our  English  tongue 
if  all  the  words  telling  of  grief  and  suffering,  of 
tears  and  sobs,  of  pain  and  death,  were  stricken  from 
it!  No  such  terms  will  find  a  place  in  the  language 
of  the  new  Jerusalem,  for  the  miseries  and  woes  which 
give  them  birth  will  never  be  known  there.  "  God 
shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes."  He 
will  expunge  the  very  fountain  of  tears.  There  will 
be  nothing  in  the  surroundings  to  call  forth  tears, 
there  will  be  no  capacity  in  the  saved  to  weep.  The 
eighth  verse  describes  those  who  shall  have  no  share 
in  the  bliss.  The  "  fearful "  means  the  cowardly, 
those  who  like  craven  soldiers  turn  their  backs  and 
flee  when  they  encounter  the  enemy-apostates,  in  short. 
To  these  are  joined  the  faithless,  the  abominable, 
murderers,  fornicators,  sorcerers  and  liars.  Only  "  he 
that  overcometh  "  shall  possess  this  infinite  heritage. 

3.  Description  of  the  Heavenly  City,  xxl :  9-xxii :  5. 
This  section  gives  us  a  nearer   view   of  the   Holy 


I50  THE  REVELATION. 

City.  It  is  very  noteworthy  that  the  view  was  given 
John  through  the  ministry  of  one  of  the  angels  of  the 
Seven  Vials.  It  was  one  of  these  same  angels  who 
showed  him  the  "  judgment  of  the  great  harlot," 
xvii:  I.  It  was  fitting  that  he  who  had  furnished  the 
vision  of  the  ungodly  and  apostate  city,  shorild  present 
the  Seer  with  the  vision  of  the  Heavenly  City. 

(a.)  Its  Structure  and  Dimensions,  xxi:  9-17. 
John's  point  of  view  is  that  of  "  a  mountain,  great  and 
high,"  ver.  10.  Ezekiel  (xlii:  2ff)  was  also  set  upon 
a  mountain  when  he  was  shown  "  the  frame  of  a  city  " 
— a  vision  which  corresponds  in  some  degree  with  this 
of  John,  and  which  probably  refers  to  the  same  thing. 
The  descent  here  mentioned  is  identical  with  that  of 
ver.  2.  He  returns  to  the  subject  now  to  give  a 
fuller  description.  The  first  thing  that  arrests  his 
attention  is  the  City's  flashing  light,  "  Her  light  was 
like  unto  a  stone  most  precious,  as  it  were  a  jasper 
stone,  clear  as  crystal."  The  term  ''light  "  is  peculiar ; 
not  light  in  the  abstract,  but  a  body  of  light,  as  a 
star,  a  blazing  luminary.  The  whole  great  City  glowed 
with  a  light  as  a  mighty  sun.  Crystaline  and  smoke- 
less flame  was  the  brilliant  splendor  with  which  it 
shone.  Gems  of  the  rarest  and  purest  quality,  gold 
that  is  transparent  like  the  finest  glass,  are  the  only 
symbols  which  even  an  inspired  prophet  can  use  to 
set  forth  its  majestic  glory. 

The  Wall  surrounding  it  had  twelve  foundations 
containing  the  names  of  the  twelve  Apostles  of  the 
Lamb,  ver.  14,  and  these  were  garnished  with  "  all 
manner  of  precious  stones."     Twelve  gems  are  men- 


VISION  OF  THE  CTIY  OF  GOD.  151 

tioned  as  adorning  the  foundations.  Swcte  writes 
that  the  stones  "  in  the  main  are  of  four  colors,  viz. : 
blue  (sapphire,  Jacinth,  amethyst),  green  (Jasper, 
chalcedony,  emerald,  beryl,  topaz,  chrysoprasus),  red 
(sardonyx,  sardius),  yellow  (chrysolite)."  All  this 
tends  to  deepen  and  clarify  the  conception  of  the  ex- 
quisite beauty,  the  dazzling  glory,  the  preciousness 
and  wealth  of  the  Heavenly  City. 

The  City  lies  four-square,  is  a  perfect  cube.  Its 
encompassing  wall  is  pierced  by  twelve  Tower-gates, 
whereat  twelve  angels  are  stationed  as  royal  guards  or 
keepers.  The  gates  have  the  names  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel.  Three  gates  are  found  in  each  side 
of  the  squares,  each  is  a  pure  pearl.  The  combination 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  and  the  twelve  Apostles 
of  the  Lamb  appears  to  signify  the  unity  and  the 
totality  of  the  redeemed,  both  of  Israel  and  of  the 
Christian  Body.  All  distinctions  of  race,  creed  and 
age  will  be  unknown  in  the  Holy  City. 

The  wall's  height  is  given  as  144  cubits,  probably 
equalling  216  feet.  Its  height  is  exactly  the  square  of 
twelve.  The  length,  breadth  and  height  are  equal 
(ver.  16),  and  they  measure  12,000  stadia.  A  stadia 
is  given  as  606%  feet,  and  the  whole  would  be  the 
stupendous  sum  of  nearly  1,400  English  miles. 

(b.)  Its  Sanctuary,  Light,  Riches  and  Inhabitants, 
xxi :  22-27.  It  ^^s  ^^  Temple  as  had  the  earthly 
Jerusalem;  God  and  the  Lamb  are  its  Temple.  Wor- 
ship will  not  need  any  ceremony  or  rite,  ritual  or  sacred 
place,  in  order  to  be  earnest  and  wholehearted.    Noth- 


152  THE  REVELATION. 

ing  will  thrust  itself  between  the  soul  and  Him  who 
is  loved;  fellowship  will  be  direct  and  unbroken. 

The  City's  light  will  be  the  Lord's  radiant  presence. 
It  will  need  neither  sun  nor  moon.  The  Lord's  infinite 
glory  will  be  its  light.  It  will  be  forever  safe,  its 
gates  will  never  be  shut,  its  riches  secure,  its  holiness 
unstained  and  untarnished  by  any  breath  of  impurity. 

(c.)  Its  perfect  bliss,  xxii:  1-5.  Paradise  is  finally 
and  forever  restored. 


The  Epilogue,  xxii:  6-21. 

The  Prologue  is  chap,  i:  1-8,  eight  verses;  the 
Epilogue  contains  sixteen  verses,  twice  as  many.  The 
Coming  of  the  Lord  is  the  pre-eminent  theme  of  both. 
In  the  Prologue  we  have  these  majestic  words:  "  Be- 
hold, he  cometh  with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see 
him,  and  they  which  pierced  him;  and  all  kindreds  of 
the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him.  Even  so.  Amen." 
But  this,  sublime  as  it  is,  is  surpassed  by  the  threefold 
testimony  of  the  Advent  in  the  Epilogue.  "  Behold, 
I  come  quickly:  blessed  is  he  that  keepeth  the  sayings 
of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,"  xxii:  7.  "And  behold, 
I  come  quickly;  and  my  reward  is  with  me  to  give  to 
every  man  as  his  work  shall  be,"  xxii :  12.  "  He  that 
testifieth  these  things  saith,  Surely  I  come  quickly; 
Amen.    Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus,"  xxii :  20. 

There  are  seven  "  blessings  "  pronounced  on  those 
who  do  or  suflPer  certain  things.    They  are : 

I.  1:  3;  blessing  on  him  who  reads  and  they  who 
hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book., 


VISION  OF  THE  CTIY  OF  GOD.  153 

2.  xiv:  13;  blessing  on  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth,  for  the  Lord  is  speedily  coming,  they 
shall  be  raised  up  in  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

3.  xvi:  15;  blessing  on  him  who  watches  and  keeps 
his  garments,  for  the  Lord  is  coming  as  a  thief,  swiftly, 
suddenly. 

4.  xix:  9;  blessing  on  him  who  is  called  to  the 
marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb. 

5.  XX :  6;  blessing  on  him  who  has  part  in  the  first 
resurrection. 

6.  xxii:  7;  blessing  on  him  who  keeps  the  sayings 
of  this  book,  the  Lord  is  at  hand. 

7.  xxii:  14;  blessing  on  him  who  has  washed  his 
robes  that  he  may  enter  into  the  Holy  City,  R.  V. 

A  special  woe  is  denounced  against  him  who  shall 
tamper  with  the  book's  contents,  xxii:  18,  19.  Words 
such  as  these  are  not  attached  to  any  other  book  of 
Scripture  (cf.  Deut.  iv:  2;  xii:  32),  and  they  guard 
with  jealous  urgency  its  integrity,  and  solemnly  warn 
against  any  mutilation  of  it;  for  the  Apocalypse  is 
God's,  divine,  perfect,  closed,  certified  and  signed  not 
only  by  the  apostolic  name,  "  I  John,"  but  the  far 
greater  name,  "  I  Jesus."  It  is  attested  as  no  other  is 
in  all  the  Bible.  How  reverently  and  honestly  and 
earnestly  it  should  be  read  and  studied. 


*'!. 


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